Patna High Court
Lohiya DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions and verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents.
Summary
Lohiya Devi, wife of Nami Manda, applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 for alleged recovery of 21.5 litres of liquor from a sack near her house. The petitioner argued that the liquor was not in her conscious possession, the location was not her property, and the complaint originated from a chowkidar rather than any direct evidence against her. The State opposed the bail, contending that the offence is non‑bailable and the petitioner has a prior case under the Excise Act. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. It further held that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed, whereas a single antecedent would lead to immediate confirmation of the bail order.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the circumstances of the case.
- Whether the alleged recovery of liquor not being in the petitioner’s possession justifies bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- liquor seizure
- criminal antecedent
- Section 30
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.17520 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-172 Year-2025 Thana- VIJAYEPUR District- Gopalganj
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Lohiya Devi Wife of Nami Manda Resident of Village- Mathiya Musahar
Toli, PS- Vijaypur, District- Gopalganj
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Pankaj Kumar Dubey
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Shyam Bihari Singh
======================================================
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 her 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 under the Excise Act and is
a woman and allegation is of recovery of 21.5 litres of liquor
from a sack near the house of the petitioner. It is next submitted
that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from her conscious possession and even alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
but then is adjacent to her house and she came to be implicated
at the instance of chowkidar with whom her husband is on an
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inimical term. It is also submitted that if chowkidar was aware
of the involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence then why
he did not inform the police prior to institution of the instant
FIR which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.
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 her 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 Vijaypur P.S. Case No.172/2025, 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 her 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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