Patna High Court
Fekan Kumar @ Fekan Kumar MahtoversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted pending verification of antecedents, as the alleged possession is not conclusively established and the petitioner has a clean record.
Summary
The petitioner, Fekan Kumar Mahto, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly storing 50.250 litres of liquor on the roof of his jointly owned house. He was not arrested at the scene and argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, that the concept of deemed possession was abolished after the 2018 amendment, and that the FIR omitted the informant's name. The State opposed his request for anticipatory bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent. The order stipulated that if any prior case is found, the bail would be withdrawn, otherwise it would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under the circumstances alleged.
- Whether the alleged possession of liquor can be established given the joint family ownership and lack of conscious possession.
- Whether the amendment to the Bihar Excise Act removing deemed possession affects the bail application.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.22105 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-39 Year-2026 Thana- BENIPATTI District- Madhubani
======================================================
Fekan Kumar @ Fekan Kumar Mahto Son of Sukhlal Mahto Resident of
village - Phulwariya, P.S.- Benipatti, District - Madhubani.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Subhash Kumar Jha
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Abhay Kumar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 07-04-2026 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 the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 50.250 litres of liquor from the roof of the house of
petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22105 of 2026(2) dt.07-04-2026
2/3
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 and
he came to be implicated at the instance of local people, 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, when petitioner admittedly is a
person with clean antecedent.
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 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 Benipatti P.S. Case No. 39 of 2026, 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22105 of 2026(2) dt.07-04-2026
3/3
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 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
Checking your session…