Patna High Court
Prince Kumar @ Dharmvir Kumar @ DhaminversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court provisionally granted anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties, and verification of his antecedent, pending a final decision on the merits.
Summary
The petitioner, Prince Kumar, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 for allegedly possessing 20.880 litres of liquor recovered from a location adjacent to his house, based solely on a confessional statement made by his brother while in police custody. The petitioner, who claims to have a clean criminal record, argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession and that the alleged possession occurred on property not owned by him. The State opposed the petition for anticipatory bail, contending that the evidence, though weak, warranted detention. The Court considered the lack of direct possession, the inadmissibility of the brother's confession, and the legislative amendment that abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. It granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond, two sureties, and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, with the order to be confirmed or set aside based on that verification.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 where the alleged possession is not in the accused's conscious possession.
- Whether a confessional statement of a co-accused made in police custody has evidentiary value for granting bail.
- Whether the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 has eliminated the doctrines of deemed possession and presumed offender.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2), 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 30(a)
- excise law
- possession
- confessional statement
- clean antecedent
- CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24719 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-64 Year-2026 Thana- BYPASS District- Patna
======================================================
Prince Kumar @ Dharmvir Kumar @ Dhamin Son of Sri Naresh Sao @
Naresh Prasad Resident of Village- Per Pokhara Bahari Begampur, PS-
Bypass, Dist- Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Kumar Manglam, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tiwary, A.P.P.
======================================================
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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 20.880 litres of liquor from a place outside the
house of the petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
but then is adjacent to his house and he came to be implicated
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24719 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026
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based on the confessional statement of his brother, namely,
Abhishek in police custody which does not have any evidentiary
value in the eye of law. It is further 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.
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 appearing on behalf of the petitioner, let 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 Bypass P.S. Case
No. 64 of 2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under
Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
7. However, it is made clear that thereafter the learned
Trial Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner
and if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case,
it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24719 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026
3/3
antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail
application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent in that event the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Kundan/-
U T
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