Patna High Court
Srinarayan SahversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions and verification of antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Srinarayan Sah, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, alleging that liquor was recovered from a vehicle he did not own and that his implication rested solely on a custodial confession of another person. He highlighted that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and argued that no material was seized from his conscious possession. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.30,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. If the petitioner is found to have more than six prior cases, the bail will not be confirmed; if exactly six, it will be confirmed. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the Bihar Narcotic and Smuggled Substances Act.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act given the alleged lack of possession and the petitioner’s criminal antecedents.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- criminal antecedents
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Bihar Narcotic and Smuggled Substances Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.22856 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-57 Year-2026 Thana- DHAKA District- East Champaran
======================================================
Srinarayan Sah S/O Sriramdayal Sah Resident of village - Gawandri,P.S-
Kundwachainpur,Dist- East Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Abhishek Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Pronoti Singh
======================================================
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 his arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of six cases, out of which, four cases
are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 12.78
litres of liquor from a Santro car. It is next submitted that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and is not the owner of
the seized vehicle and he came to be implicated based on
confessional statement of Alok in police custody which does not
have any evidentiary value. It is next submitted that after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22856 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. It is also submitted that once an accused is implicated in a
case relating to excise, the police starts implicating
mechanically either through chowkidar, local person,
confessional statement or secret information without holding a
proper investigation.
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.30,000/- (Rupees thirty 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 Dhaka P.S. Case No.57/2026., 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
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than
six cases, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.22856 of 2026(3) dt.27-04-2026
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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 has antecedent of six
cases, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall
be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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