Patna High Court
Panchanand Yadav @ Phulwa @ Panchanand Prasad YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail was granted subject to bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Panchanand Yadav, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of 1.620 litres of liquor from his house and 37.2 litres from a sack. He argued that the house is joint family property, he had no conscious possession, and he has a clean antecedent, contending that the alleged informant, a chowkidar, had a personal enmity and did not report earlier. The State opposed the bail. The Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s antecedents before confirming the bail. If any antecedent is found, the provisional bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in a case of alleged possession of liquor under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the recovery of liquor from a joint family house and a sack establishes possession or knowledge on the part of the petitioner.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent warrants grant of bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- liquor
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.20158 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-18 Year-2026 Thana- PALASI District- Araria
======================================================
Panchanand Yadav @ Phulwa @ Panchanand Prasad Yadav S/O
Singheshwarb Yadav R/o Village- Belbari (Belwadi) Ward No. 013, P.s.-
Palasi District- Araria, Bihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Madhav Jha
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Gulnar Begum
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 31-03-2026 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
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 1.620 litres of liquor from house of petitioner and
37.2 litres of liquor from a sack. It is next submitted that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and the house in
question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it was petitioner, who had kept the liquor in
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the house or the liquor kept in the house 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 and he came to be implicated at the
instance of chowkidar with whom he is on an inimical term. It is
next 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, when petitioner
admittedly is a person with clean antecedent. It is also submitted
that alleged recovery of 37.2 litres of liquor from sack is not
from the house of petitioner.
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 his 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 Palasi P.S. Case No.18/2026, subject to the
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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 even one
case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification 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)
amit/-
U T
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