Patna High Court
Parwati DeviversusThe 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 the stipulated bail conditions.
Summary
Petitioner Parwati Devi sought anticipatory bail after the police registered a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act alleging recovery of 5 litres of liquor from her house, which she claims is joint family property and that she had no conscious possession. She argued that the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and that the FIR did not disclose the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed the grant of anticipatory bail. The Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. If more than one prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; if only one prior case exists, the provisional bail will be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the amendment to the Bihar Excise Act in 2018 eliminates the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender applicable to the petitioner.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- joint family property
- Section 482(2)
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.57767 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-154 Year-2025 Thana- DOBHI District- Gaya
======================================================
Parwati Devi W/O Gariwan Manjhi R/O Village- Angar, P.S- Dobhi, Distt.-
Gaya.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Aryan Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Asha Kumari, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 06-01-2026 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 Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 5 liters of liquor from house of the
petitioner along with 5 liters of liquor from house of Mina Devi
and 5 liters of liquor from house of Usha Devi.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from her conscious possession and the house in
question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.57767 of 2025(3) dt.06-01-2026
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with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in
the house or the liquor kept in the house was within her
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 the petitioner 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.
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 before the learned Trial Court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.
5,000/- (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 Dobhi
P.S. Case No. 154 of 2025 subject to the conditions as laid down
under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial
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Court 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 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 has antecedent of one
case only, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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