Patna High Court
Ajay Paswan @ Ajay KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court ordered provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties, and verification of antecedents, with confirmation contingent on the number of prior cases.
Summary
The petitioner, Ajay Paswan, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, where 31.875 litres of liquor were allegedly recovered from his joint family house. He argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, the house is jointly owned, and the FIR did not disclose the informant, challenging the applicability of deemed possession after the 2018 amendment. The State opposed the bail. The High Court granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.5,000 bond with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify his criminal antecedents. If more than one prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; if only one antecedent exists, the bail will be confirmed immediately. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in an offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the removal of the deemed possession concept by the 2018 amendment affects the bail application.
- Whether the lack of conscious possession and joint family ownership negate the prosecution's case for arrest.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 — s. 30(a)
- Criminal Procedure Code — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- deemed possession
- excise law
- joint family property
- bail conditions
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.37351 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-74 Year-2026 Thana- BHUTAHI District- Sitamarhi
======================================================
Ajay Paswan @ Ajay Kumar S/o Shree Ganesh Mukhiya Resident of Village-
Basahiya, P.S.- Bhutahi, Dist.- Sitamarhi
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Dwij Raj
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Vinod Shanker Modi
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 16-06-2026 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
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 31.875 litres of liquor from house of
the petitioner. It is next submitted that 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 his knowledge and after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.37351 of 2026(2) dt.16-06-2026
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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 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.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. 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.5000/- (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 Bhutahi P.S. Case No.74/2026, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter
shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than
one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.37351 of 2026(2) dt.16-06-2026
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provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification 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)
amit/-
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