Patna High Court
Satendra Kumar @ Sikindra KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, and ordered that the bail be confirmed if no prior case is found.
Summary
Satendra Kumar was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly recovering 33.810 litres of liquor from three motorcycles, although the liquor was not seized from his immediate possession and he denied ownership of the vehicles. The prosecution’s case relied primarily on a confessional statement made by another accused while in police custody, which the petitioner argued lacks evidentiary value. The petitioner, a person with a clean antecedent, sought anticipatory bail, contending that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail application. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond and two sureties, directing the trial court to verify the petitioner’s antecedent and confirm the bail if no prior case is found, otherwise to cancel it.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act where the alleged offender was not caught in possession of liquor.
- Whether a confessional statement of an accused made while in police custody has evidentiary value for the prosecution.
- Effect of the 2018 amendment to the Bihar Excise Act on the doctrines of deemed possession and presumed offender.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- confessional statement
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- clean antecedent
- Section 482
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16328 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-371 Year-2021 Thana- BAJPATTI District- Sitamarhi
======================================================
Satendra Kumar @ Sikindra Kumar Son of Ramnarayan Singh R/o Village -
Bengha, P.S. - Runisaidpur, Dist. - Sitamarhi.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Pushpendra Kumar Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Umeshanand Pandit, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 17-03-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 33.810 liters of liquor from two different
motorcycles and another motorcycle was also seized.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and is not the
owner of any of the seized motorcycles and came to be
implicated based on confessional statement of apprehended
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accused in police custody which does not have any evidentiary
value. It is next submitted that after amendment in the excise act
in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and
presumed offender has been done away with.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner above-named, in the
event of his arrest or surrender before the learned Trial Court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.
500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the like
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where
the case is pending/successor court in connection with Bajpatti
P.S. Case No. 371 of 2021 subject to the conditions as laid down
under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case
then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner is a
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person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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