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Patna High Court

Rajeev Kumar YadavversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The Court ordered provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions and verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent.

Summary

The petitioner, Rajeev Kumar Yadav, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018, alleging recovery of 26.460 litres of liquor from the roof of his joint family house. He argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession and that the concept of deemed possession had been abolished, contending that the case was based on secret information without proper investigation. The State opposed the bail. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.10,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent. If the verification shows more than two prior cases, the bail will not be confirmed; if only two, it will be confirmed forthwith.

Issues considered

  • Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in an excise offence where alleged possession is not proven and the accused has two prior cases
  • Whether the concept of deemed possession under the amended Excise Act applies to the present facts

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • excise offence
  • possession
  • joint family property
  • criminal antecedent
  • Section 30
  • Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.17312 of 2026
                  Arising Out of PS. Case No.-67 Year-2025 Thana- Excise Jhanjharpur District- Madhubani
                 ======================================================
                 Rajeev Kumar Yadav S/o Nitish Kumar Yadav R/o Village - Siswa Barahi, P.S
                 - Phulparas, District - Madhubani
                                                                           ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                   Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                    ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Mr. Jitendra Kumar Bharti, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr. Suresh Prasad Singh, A.P.P.
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   19-03-2026                  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 the

                   Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of two cases under the Excise Act and

                   allegation is of recovery of 26.460 litres of liquor from the roof

                   of the house of the petitioner.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was

                   recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted

                   that the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it

                   cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner who

                   had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.17312 of 2026(2) dt.19-03-2026
                                            2/3




          was within his knowledge and after amendment in the Excise

          Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and

          presumed offender has been done away with. It is next

          submitted that petitioner came to be implicated based on the

          secret information which is the easiest way to implicate

          someone without holding the proper investigation of the case. It

          is also submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case

          relating to excise the police start implicating mechanically either

          at the instance of the Chawkidar, local person, secret

          information or confessional statement without holding a proper

          investigation of the case.

                       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, let 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.10,000/- (Rupees Ten 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 Jhanjharpur Excise P.S. Case No. 67 of

          2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.17312 of 2026(2) dt.19-03-2026
                                                       3/3




                     438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

                                  7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial

                     Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if

                     it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two cases,

                     it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his

                     antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail

                     application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order

                     shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that

                     petitioner has antecedent of only two cases in that event the

                     provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.


                                                                          (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T


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