Patna High Court
Dashai MusaharversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail, granting provisional bail subject to verification of antecedents and compliance with stipulated conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Dashai Musahar, applied for anticipatory bail in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging that liquor recovered from his joint family house was not in his conscious possession and that he was implicated by an inimical watchman. The petitioner has a prior case under the Excise Act, but argues that the concept of deemed possession was removed by the 2018 amendment. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents and compliance with conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order is conditional: if more than one prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; otherwise it will be confirmed. The petitioner also undertook to deposit Rs.2,500 with the High Court Legal Services Committee.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted despite alleged possession of liquor recovered from the petitioner’s house.
- Whether the petitioner can be deemed a possessor under the amended Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. are appropriate for granting anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- provisional bail
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.5526 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-432 Year-2025 Thana- NOKHA District- Rohtas
======================================================
Dashai Musahar S/o Malik Musahar @ Malik Ram Resident of Village -
Ghosiyan Musahar Toli, (Lalganj), P.S. - Nokha, District - Rohtas
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Kumar Sunil, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Sharma, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 03-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the 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 8.3 litres of liquor out of which 5.3
litres of liquor was recovered from the 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.5526 of 2026(2) dt.03-02-2026
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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.
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.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Excise Judge-II, Sasaram, Rohtas in connection with
Nokha P.S. Case No.432 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
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 more than one case, then
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.5526 of 2026(2) dt.03-02-2026
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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 has antecedent of only one case, 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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