Patna High Court
Gore Chaudhary @ Gorelal ChaudhariversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedents and compliance with bail bond conditions.
Summary
Gore Chaudhary, a resident of Nawada, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under Section 47(A) of the Excise Act for alleged recovery of 15 litres of liquor from a jointly owned house. He contended that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, the property being a joint family asset, and that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The petitioner also highlighted his prior five cases under the Excise Act and alleged that police investigations were mechanically based on informants without proper inquiry. The State opposed the bail application. Justice Satyavrat Verma granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.25,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents, confirming bail only if the antecedents do not exceed five cases. The order is subject to Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 47(A) of the Excise Act where the alleged contraband is not in the accused's conscious possession.
- Whether the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 eliminates the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender for bail considerations.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Criminal Procedure Code — s. 482(2)
- Excise Act — s. 47(A)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Excise Act
- Section 47(A)
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- criminal antecedents
- Section 482
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.39454 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-111 Year-2014 Thana- GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL COMP.
District- Nawada
======================================================
Gore Chaudhary @ Gorelal Chaudhari S/o Lakhan Choudhary Resident Of
Village- Pachrukhi, P.S.- Akbarpur, 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. Rajendra Prasad Nat
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 22-06-2026 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 47(A) of
Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of five cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 15 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.39454 of 2026(2) dt.22-06-2026
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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. It is also
submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to
excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either through
chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret
information without holding a proper investigation.
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.25,000/- (Rupees twenty 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. Case
No.111/2014, 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
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five cases, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner
had concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification it is found that petitioner has antecedent of five
cases, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall
be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
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