Kavita DeviversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1954 of 2026
                    Arising Out of PS. Case No.-583 Year-2025 Thana- GANDHIMAIDAN District- Patna
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                 Kavita Devi Wife of Late Ramashish Ram Resident of Mohalla Salimpur
                 Ahra, Lane No.- 3, P.S.- Gandhi Maidan, District - Patna
                                                                               ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                   Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
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                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr. Om Prakash Nagmani, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :      Ms. Veena Kumari Jaiswal, A.P.P.
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                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   27-01-2026                  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 Sections 30(a) and

                   41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act,

                   2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of three cases out of which two cases

                   are under the Excise Act and is a woman and allegation is of

                   recovery of 20 litres of liquor from 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 her 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1954 of 2026(2) dt.27-01-2026
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          had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house

          was within her 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 at the instance of

          the local persons but then the name of the person who disclosed

          the name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts

          an aspersion on the case of the prosecution. 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 her 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.15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen 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
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1954 of 2026(2) dt.27-01-2026
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                     Gandhi Maidan P.S. Case No. 583 of 2025, subject to the

                     conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the

                     Cr.P.C./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 if

                     it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than three

                     cases, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed her

                     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 three cases in that event the

                     provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.


                                                                         (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T