Patna High Court
Bhadai Paswan @ Bhaday Paswan @ Bhadaya PaswanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The High Court allowed the anticipatory bail, granting provisional bail subject to conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Bhadai Paswan, was implicated in a case under Sections 30(a), 32 and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act for allegedly possessing 3.96 litres of liquor recovered from his house. He contended that he has a clean antecedent, that the liquor was located in a joint‑family dwelling and that he was not in conscious possession, arguing that the concept of deemed possession was abolished by the 2018 amendment. The petitioner also alleged that the informant, a chowkidar, was hostile towards him and questioned why the informant did not approach police earlier. The State opposed the anticipatory bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs 500, two sureties, verification of antecedents and a deposit of Rs 2,500 with the Legal Services Committee, invoking its inherent powers under Section 482(2) of the CrPC.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession applies post‑2018 amendment.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of conscious possession justify bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 482
- high court inherent powers
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.4892 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-393 Year-2025 Thana- KOTWA District- East Champaran
======================================================
Bhadai Paswan @ Bhaday Paswan @ Bhadaya Paswan Son of Chanar
Paswan @ Charan Paswan Resident of village - Jagir Karariya, P.S.- Kotwa,
District - East Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Kanhiya Kishor, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 02-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 32 and 41(1)
of Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 3.96 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.4892 of 2026(2) dt.02-02-2026
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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 and he came to be implicated
at the instance of Chowkidar with whom he is on an inimical
term. It is also submitted that if Chowkidar was aware of the
involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence then why he did
not inform the police prior to institution of the instant FIR,
which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
5. 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 Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bond in the
sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Special Judge,
Excise Court No.1, East Champaran, Motihari in connection
with Kotwa P.S. Case No.393 of 2025, subject to the conditions
laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.4892 of 2026(2) dt.02-02-2026
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accepting the provisional bail bond of the petitioner 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 obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before this Court,
in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall
not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner,
based on instruction, submits that petitioner undertakes to
deposit an amount of Rs.2500/- with High Court Legal Services
Committee, Patna within a period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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