Patna High Court
Devratiya DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail was granted subject to bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, with the bail to be confirmed if she is found to have a clean record.
Summary
The petitioner, Devratiya Devi, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged possession of six litres of liquor recovered from her house and eight litres from other locations. She argued that the liquor was stored in a joint‑family house, that she had no conscious possession, and that she has a clean criminal antecedent. The State opposed her anticipatory bail application, contending that the alleged offence warranted arrest. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on the furnishing of bail bonds of Rs.500 each with two sureties and verification of her antecedent under Section 482(2) of the Bihar Negotiable Securities Act. The order further stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would be revoked, whereas a clean antecedent would lead to confirmation of the bail order.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case of alleged liquor possession under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession applies after the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedent affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Securities Act — s. 482(2)
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- liquor possession
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 482
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.59818 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-115 Year-2025 Thana- SAKURABAD District- Jehanabad
======================================================
Devratiya Devi S/o- Late Mishri Chaudhary Village- Fauladpur , Ps-
Shakurabad Dist- Jehanabad
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ranjay Kumar Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Kanhiya Kishor, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 06-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman
allegation is of recovery of 6 litres of liquor from house of the
petitioner and 8 litres of liquor from two other places as detailed
in the FIR. It is next submitted that petitioner was not arrested
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 with certainty that it was
petitioner who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.59818 of 2025(3) dt.06-01-2026
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in the house was within her knowledge and after amendment in
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 Chowkidar
with whom her husband 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 her arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on her furnishing bail-bonds in the
sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Special
Excise-I, Jehanabad in connection with Shakurabad P.S. Case
No.115 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 bonds 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.59818 of 2025(3) dt.06-01-2026
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would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed her 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.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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