Patna High Court
Dinesh YadavversusThe 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.
Summary
The petitioner, Dinesh Yadav, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 47(A)(F) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged possession of 90 litres of liquor and 600 litres of fermented Jawa Mauha recovered from his house, which is part of a joint family property. He contended that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, that the concept of deemed possession was abolished by the 2018 amendment, and that the investigation was based on secret information without proper inquiry. The State opposed the bail application. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs. 5,000 and two sureties, directing the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedent. The order stipulated that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed; if only one prior case is found, the bail would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 47(A)(F) of the Bihar Excise Act where alleged possession is in a joint family property.
- Whether the 2018 amendment removing the concept of deemed possession affects the bail application.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent influences the confirmation of anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 47(A)(F)
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28410 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-662 Year-2014 Thana- GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL COMP.
District- Nawada
======================================================
Dinesh Yadav S/O Lakhan Yadav Resident of Village- Dhobni, P.S- Meskaur,
District- Nawada.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Sheo Kumar Prasad
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Jai Narain Thakur
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 29-04-2026 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 47(A)(F) of
the Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 90 litres of liquor from the house of
the petitioner along with 600 litres of fermented Jawa Mauha,
which was destroyed.
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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28410 of 2026(2) dt.29-04-2026
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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
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 based on secret information which is
the easiest way to implicate someone without holding a proper
investigation. It is further 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. 5,000/- (Rupees
Five 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 G.O P.S. Case No.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28410 of 2026(2) dt.29-04-2026
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662 of 2014 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
one case 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 one case in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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