Patna High Court
Kunti DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties, and verification of her antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Kunti Devi, sought anticipatory bail after the police registered a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act alleging recovery of 10 litres of liquor from her house and 8 litres from a nearby location. She contended that she had no conscious possession, the property was jointly owned, and she had a clean antecedent, arguing that the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs. 500 and two sureties, directing the trial court to verify her antecedent and confirm the bail if she is found to have no prior cases, otherwise the bail may be revoked. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act where the accused claims no conscious possession and clean antecedent.
- Whether the amendment to the Bihar Excise Act in 2018 eliminates the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender for the purpose of granting bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30
- Section 482
- possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- excise offence
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.17745 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-763 Year-2025 Thana- BODHGAYA District- Gaya
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Kunti Devi Wife of Late Baleshwar Manjhi Resident of Village - Bhojvar
Bagicha Tika Bigha, P.S.- Bodhgaya, District - Gayaji.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Anirudh Kumar Sinha
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Lakshmi Kant Sharma
======================================================
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 offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 10 litres of liquor from the house of
the petitioner and 8 litres of liquor from a meeting place in front
of the house of Shankar Manjhi.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from her conscious possession and the house in
question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged
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with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in
the house or the liquor kept in the house was within knowledge
of the petitioner. 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. It
is further submitted that she came to be implicated based on
secret information which is the easiest way to implicate
someone without holding a proper investigation.
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 her arrest or surrender 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 Bodhgaya P.S. Case No. 763 of 2025, 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
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seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her 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
person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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