Patna High Court
Arvind Kumar @ KanpuriyaversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail is granted subject to bond, sureties, and verification of antecedents, with confirmation contingent on the findings.
Summary
The petitioner, Arvind Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of liquor from vehicles without his possession. He argued that the alleged evidence was a confessional statement made in police custody, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value, and that the 2018 amendment had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.5,000 bond with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. If more than one prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; if only one prior case, the bail will be confirmed. The order is subject to Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Issues considered
- What is the applicability of Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 to the petitioner?
- Does a confessional statement made in police custody constitute admissible evidence for arrest in this context?
- Do the 2018 amendments to the Excise Act eliminate the doctrines of deemed possession and presumed offender?
- Should anticipatory bail be granted pending verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents?
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- excise law
- liquor seizure
- confessional statement
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16479 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-39 Year-2026 Thana- MALSALAMI District- Patna
======================================================
Arvind Kumar @ Kanpuriya Son of kanapuriya Sahani @ Panpuriya Sahni @
Ramashankar Sahani @ Rama Shankar Resident Of Village- Nuruddinganj,
Ps -Malsalami, Dist -Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Arvind Prasad Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Renu Kumari
======================================================
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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case and allegation is of
recovery of 100 litres of liquor from an auto and 50 litres of
liquor from a motorcycle. It is next submitted that petitioner
was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered
from his conscious possession and is not the owner of any of the
seized vehicle and he came to be implicated based on
confessional statement of Rama kumar in police custody which
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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.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner above-named, in the
event of his arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks
from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on
furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand) 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 Malsalami P.S. Case No.39/2026, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter
shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than
one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification it is found that petitioner has antecedent of one
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case, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be
confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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