Patna High Court
Rafiq Miyan @ Rafik AlamversusThe 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 clarified that the bail will be confirmed only if the petitioner is found to have a clean criminal record.
Summary
The petitioner, Rafiq Miyan, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly possessing 9 litres of liquor recovered from a scooty. He contended that he had a clean antecedent, was not the owner of the scooty, and that the only evidence against him was a confessional statement made by Dilshad while in police custody, which he argued lacked evidentiary value. The State opposed the grant of anticipatory bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and conditioned the order on verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent by the trial court. If any antecedent is discovered, the bail will not be confirmed; if the petitioner is found to have a clean record, the provisional bail will be confirmed. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the BNSS, noting that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the confessional statement of Dilshad recorded in police custody can be treated as substantive evidence for arrest.
- Effect of the 2018 amendment to the Bihar Excise Act on the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- confessional statement
- clean antecedent
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.19289 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-225 Year-2025 Thana- GOPALPUR District- Gopalganj
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Rafiq Miyan @ Rafik Alam son of Nizamuddin Miyan @ Nijamuddin Miya
Resident of Village -Chadi Durg PS- Gopalpur, Dist- Gopalganj
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Saurabh Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Abhay Kumar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 26-03-2026 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 9 liters of liquor from a Scooty.
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 the seized Scooty and came to be implicated based on
confessional statement of Dilshad in police custody which does
not have any evidentiary value. It is next submitted that after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.19289 of 2026(2) dt.26-03-2026
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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 Gopalpur
P.S. Case No. 225 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 seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his
antecedent before this Court, as such, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after
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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)
Rishabh/-
U T
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