Patna High Court
Chunni DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to conditions and verification of her antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Chunni Devi, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly having 10 litres of liquor recovered from the courtyard of her joint family house. She contended that she had no conscious possession, the property is jointly owned, and she has a clean antecedent. The State opposed her request for anticipatory bail. The court considered the amendment to the Excise Act that abolished the concept of deemed possession and noted the lack of direct evidence linking the petitioner to the liquor. It granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond, two sureties, and verification of her criminal antecedent by the trial court. If any antecedent is found, the bail may be revoked; otherwise, it will be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act after the 2018 amendment removing deemed possession
- Whether the joint family ownership of the premises negates the petitioner’s liability for the alleged liquor possession
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent warrants the grant of anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Securities Act (BNSS) — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30(a)
- Bihar Excise Act
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 482(2) BNSS
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.5909 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-348 Year-2025 Thana- HULASGANJ District- Jehanabad
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Chunni Devi W/O Dharmendra Manjhi R/O Village- Kashiawan Bhui Toli,
P.S.- Hulasganj, Distt.- Jehanabad
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Paras Nath
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Ajay Kumar No. 2
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 03-02-2026 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 the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 10 litres of liquor from the courtyard
of petitioner apart from other recoveries as detailed in the FIR.
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 after 2018
amendment in the Excise Act, the concept of deemed possession
and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next
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submitted that 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 within knowledge of the petitioner and she came to
be 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 admittedly is a peson with celan
antecedent.
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.
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
Hulasganj P.S. Case No. 348 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 Court
shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the
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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
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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