Patna High Court
Sushil SahaniversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioners, subject to verification of their criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioners, Sushil Sahani and his wife Sarita Devi, feared arrest in a case registered under Sections 274 and 275 of the Bihar Narcotic and S... Act, 2023 read with Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, alleging recovery of liquor from their joint family house. They argued they had no conscious possession, the property was jointly owned, and the concept of deemed possession had been abolished after the 2018 amendment. The State opposed their request for anticipatory bail. The Court, after hearing both sides, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition that the petitioners furnish bail bonds and sureties, and that the trial court verify their criminal antecedents within six weeks. It further directed that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed for that petitioner; otherwise, the provisional order would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in offences punishable under Sections 274 and 275 of the Bihar Narcotic and S... Act, 2023 and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioners' lack of conscious possession and the abolition of deemed possession justify anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioners' criminal antecedent must be verified before confirming anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- liquor seizure
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- criminal antecedent
- Section 274
- Section 275
- Bihar Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24484 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-245 Year-2025 Thana- BOCHAHAN District- Muzaffarpur
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1. Sushil Sahani Son of Jagdeep Sahani Resident of Village- Balthi Rasulpur,
P.S.- Bochaha, District- Muzaffarpur
2. Sarita Devi Wife of Sushil Sahani Resident of Village- Balthi Rasulpur, P.S.-
Bochaha, District- Muzaffarpur
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Santosh Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Nirala, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 18-04-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 274 and
275 of the BNS, 2023 read with Section 30(a) of the Bihar
Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioners are persons with clean antecedent and petitioner no.
2 is a woman and allegation is of recovery of 6 liters of liquor
along with 40 liters of Jawa Mahua solution from the house of
the petitioners and 20 liters of liquor from house of Nanki
Sahni.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24484 of 2026(2) dt.18-04-2026
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4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioners were not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from their conscious possession and the house in
question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it were petitioners who had kept the liquor in
the house or the liquor kept in the house was within their
knowledge and after amendment in the excise act in the year
2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender
has been done away with and they came to be implicated at the
instance of Chowkidar with whom petitioner no. 1 is on an
inimical term. It is also submitted that if Chowkidar was aware
of the involvement of the petitioners in the occurrence then why
he did not inform the police prior to institution of the instant
FIR which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their 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.
500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) each with two sureties of the like
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24484 of 2026(2) dt.18-04-2026
3/3
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where
the case is pending/successor court in connection with Bochaha
P.S. Case No. 245 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 petitioners and
in the event if it is found that any of the petitioners have
antecedent of even one case then it would be presumed that
petitioners, for the purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had
concealed their antecedent before this Court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed with
respect to that petitioner who had concealed his criminal
antecedent, but after verification if it is found that petitioners are
persons with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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