Patna High Court
Supen SardarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties, and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, with confirmation contingent on the antecedent not exceeding two prior cases.
Summary
Supen Sardar sought anticipatory bail after learning of a pending case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, alleging recovery of 27 litres of liquor from a courier office. He argued that he was not caught with the liquor, was not the owner of the courier agency, and that the case was based solely on confessional statements of two persons taken in police custody, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value. He further contended that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs.10,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify his criminal antecedent, stipulating that the bail would be confirmed only if he has at most two prior cases.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act is based solely on confessional statements without possession of the contraband.
- Whether the 2018 amendment to the Bihar Excise Act eliminates the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender for the purpose of bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- deemed possession
- confessional statements
- Bihar Excise Act
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24479 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-380 Year-2025 Thana- TRIVENIGANJ District- Supaul
======================================================
Supen Sardar Son of Late Kulanand Sardar R/o Machaha, Ward no. 11, P.S. -
Triveniganj, Dist. - Supaul.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeev Verma
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ramesh Chandra
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 20-04-2026 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
petitioner has antecedent of two cases out of which one case is
under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 27 liters of
liquor from courier office in the house of Lal Bahadur Yadav.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and is not the
owner of the courier agency and came to be implicated based on
confessional statement of Pankaj and Prateek in police custody
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24479 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026
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which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also 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. It is also submitted that once an accused is
implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts
implicating mechanically either at the instance of Chowkidar,
local person, confessional statement or secret information
without holding a proper investigation.
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 before the learned Trial Court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.
10000/- (Rupees Ten 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
Triveniganj P.S. Case No. 380 of 2025 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 more than two
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24479 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026
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cases 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 has
antecedent of two cases only, in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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