Patna High Court
Shiva Sahni @ Shiva KumarversusThe 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 his antecedent.
Summary
Shiva Sahni was implicated under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly possessing 13 litres of liquor recovered from his joint family house. He argued that he had no conscious possession, the house is jointly owned, and the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. He also highlighted that the FIR did not disclose the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed his request for anticipatory bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and directed verification of his criminal antecedent, with confirmation of bail if he is found to have a clean record.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the circumstances of alleged possession of liquor.
- Whether the amendment to the Bihar Excise Act removing deemed possession affects the prosecution's case.
- Whether the lack of disclosure of the informant in the FIR undermines the charge.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28176 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-61 Year-2026 Thana- KALYANPUR District- Samastipur
======================================================
Shiva Sahni @ Shiva Kumar S/o Nunu Sahni Resident of Village -
Bhagirathpur, P.S. - Kalyanpur, Dist .- Samastipur.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Raja Ram Mishra
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms.Indu Kumari Srivastava
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 28-04-2026 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 the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 13 litres of liquor from the house of the petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
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 knowledge
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28176 of 2026(2) dt.28-04-2026
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of the petitioner. It is next 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 and
he came to be implicated at the instance of local people, 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.
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 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 Kalyanpur P.S. Case No. 61 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 even one case
then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
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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 is a
person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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