Patna High Court
Indu DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail was granted, subject to verification of antecedents and compliance with conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Summary
Indu Devi, a woman with a clean antecedent, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 for allegedly having 15 litres of liquor recovered from the courtyard of her joint family house. She was not arrested at the spot and the liquor was not found in her conscious possession. The petitioner sought anticipatory bail, arguing that the amended Act had done away with the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and that the FIR did not disclose the informant. The State opposed the bail. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and conditioned on verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.; if any antecedent is found, the bail will not be confirmed, otherwise it will be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 where the alleged liquor was found in a joint family property and not in the petitioner’s conscious possession.
- Whether the amendment removing deemed possession and presumed offender applies to the petitioner’s situation.
- Whether the trial court must verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents before confirming the anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.22854 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-621 Year-2025 Thana- CHHATAUNI District- East Champaran
======================================================
Indu Devi S/O Heera Paswan @ Kois Paswan Resident of Village- Bara
Bariyarpur, PoliceStation- Chhatauni, District- East Champaran at Motihari
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shashank Shekhar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Pradeep Narain Kumar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 27-04-2026 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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 15 litres of liquor from courtyard of
the house of petitioner. It is next submitted that 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 with certainty that it
was petitioner, who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor
kept in the house was within her knowledge and after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22854 of 2026(3) dt.27-04-2026
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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 and she came to be implicated at the instance of local
person 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 has not
been implicated based on secret information and is a woman
with clean antecedent.
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 Chhatauni P.S. Case No.621/2025, subject to
the 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22854 of 2026(3) dt.27-04-2026
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event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one
case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
concealed her 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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