Patna High Court
Santosh ChaudharyversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail is granted, subject to verification of antecedent cases and compliance with bail conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Santosh Chaudhary, feared arrest in a case under Section 30(a) and (b) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged possession of 14 litres of liquor recovered from his house and 4 litres from a nearby location. He argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, the house is joint family property, and the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed his prayer for anticipatory bail. The Court, after hearing both sides, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of a Rs 20,000 bond, two sureties and verification of his criminal antecedent within six weeks. The order stipulates that if the petitioner is found to have more than four prior excise cases, the bail will not be confirmed; otherwise it will be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30 of the Bihar Excise Act where alleged possession is disputed
- Whether the 2018 amendment removing the concept of deemed possession affects the prosecution’s case
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent exceeds the threshold for granting anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- criminal antecedent
- Section 482
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.27134 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-53 Year-2026 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Rohtas
======================================================
Santosh Chaudhary S/o- Late Kedar Chaudhary Resident of Village- Shivpur
PS- Nokha Dist- Rohtas
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Raghunandan Kumar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Md. Fahimuddin
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 23-04-2026 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) (b) of
the Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of four cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 14 liters of liquor from house of the
petitioner and 4 liters of liquor from a place in front of the house
of Jai Prakash.
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 the house in
question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27134 of 2026(2) dt.23-04-2026
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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
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 it is submitted that if local
person was aware of the involvement of the petitioner 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. 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.
20000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand) with two sureties of the like
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27134 of 2026(2) dt.23-04-2026
3/3
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where
the case is pending/successor court in connection with Sasaram
Excise P.S. Case No. 53 of 2026 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 four
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 four cases only, in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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