Patna High Court
Kabita DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The High Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of her criminal antecedents and compliance with the stipulated conditions.
Summary
Kabita Devi was implicated in a case under Sections 30(a) and 30(c) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 for allegedly possessing 20 litres of liquor recovered from a bathan near her house. She filed an anticipatory bail application, arguing that the liquor was stored by a hostile neighbour and that she had no prior arrests except one case. The State opposed the bail. The Patna High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on condition of a Rs.5,000 bail‑bond with two sureties and directed verification of her criminal antecedents. The order stipulated that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would be cancelled; otherwise it would be confirmed. The application was allowed, and the petitioner was also directed to deposit Rs.1,500 with the High Court Legal Services Committee.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under the circumstances of the alleged offence under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedent warrants denial of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30
- Section 482
- high court
- provisional bail
- criminal antecedent
- liquor possession
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6203 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-657 Year-2025 Thana- RAHUI District- Nalanda
======================================================
Kabita Devi W/O Damodar Yadav R/O Vill.- Jagatnandanpur, P.S-
Rahui,Dist- Nalanda
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Raj Kishor Prasad, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rajesh Kumar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 04-02-2026 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) and 30(c) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 20 litres of liquor from Bathan
situated beside the house of the petitioner. It is next submitted
that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing
was recovered from her conscious possession and Bathan is a
place outside the house and thus, is accessible to villagers at
large. It is next submitted that no prudent person would use her
own premises for committing an occurrence and thus, would
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6203 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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create evidence against herself and hence, would get implicated.
It is also submitted that petitioner came to be implicated at the
instance of Chowkidar with whom her husband is on an inimical
term. It is next submitted that it appears that someone inimical
to the family concealed meager amount of liquor in the Bathan
with an intent to implicate the entire family members.
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-bond in the
sum of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Special
Judge, Excise-II, Biharsharif, Nalanda in connection with Rahui
P.S. Case No.657 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6203 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case, then
it 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 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.1500/- 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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