Patna High Court
Anita DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted when the petitioner has a clean antecedent, no possession of the alleged contraband, and the prosecution’s case lacks direct evidence, subject to verification by the trial court.
Summary
Anita Devi, a woman with a clean antecedent, feared arrest in a case under Sections 274 and 275 of the Bihar Non‑Objectionable Substances Act and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, where liquor was allegedly recovered from a public pond and a house not belonging to her. She argued that no liquor was found in her possession, the alleged recovery site was public, and the FIR did not name the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution’s case. The State opposed her request for anticipatory bail. The Court, noting the lack of direct evidence, her clean record, and the public nature of the alleged location, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs. 500 and two sureties, and directed the trial court to verify her antecedent. The order stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would be cancelled; otherwise, it would be confirmed. Thus, the petition for anticipatory bail was disposed by granting provisional relief.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Sections 274, 275 BNS and Section 30(a) Bihar Excise Act where no possession is established
- Whether the absence of a named informant in the FIR and the public nature of the alleged recovery site affect the grant of anticipatory bail
- Whether verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent by the trial court is a condition for confirming anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- Bihar Excise Act — s. 30(a)
- Bihar Non-Objectionable Substances Act — s. 274, 275, 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 274 BNS
- Section 275 BNS
- Section 30(a) Bihar Excise Act
- clean antecedent
- public place
- bail bond
- Section 482(2)
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.41639 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-285 Year-2024 Thana- RAJEPUR District- East Champaran
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Anita Devi W/o Pramod Manjhi Resident of village - Madhopur Phulwariya
Mushar Toli, P.S - Rajepur, District - East Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Manoj Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Madan Kumar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 03-07-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 274 and
275 of BNS and 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 is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 10 litres of liquor from a pond and
65 litres of liquor from the house of Baby Devi.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from her conscious possession and even the alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
and is accessible to public at large and she came to be
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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 her 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 Rajepur P.S. Case No. 285 of 2024, 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
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her 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
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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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