Patna High Court
Saurav PaswanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to conditions and verification of antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Saurav Paswan, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for allegedly possessing 21 litres of liquor recovered from his house, which is a joint family property. He argued that he has a clean antecedent, was not arrested at the scene, and that the liquor was not in his conscious possession; moreover, the concept of deemed possession was removed by the 2018 amendment. The State opposed his prayer for anticipatory bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify his antecedents. If any prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; otherwise, it will be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act given the facts of alleged possession and joint family property.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- excise law
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.23182 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-650 Year-2025 Thana- JAMUI District- Jamui
======================================================
Saurav Paswan S/o Ramashish Paswan Resident of Village- Thegua, P.S.-
Jamui, District- Jamui
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Niranjan Parihar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Arun Kumar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 09-04-2026 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 is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 21 litres of liquor from the house of petitioner. 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 the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his
knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act in the year
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.23182 of 2026(2) dt.09-04-2026
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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 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.
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 Jamui P.S. Case No.650/2025, 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
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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.23182 of 2026(2) dt.09-04-2026
3/3
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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