Patna High Court
Manoj Yadav @ Manoj Kumar YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted anticipatory bail, subject to bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent cases.
Summary
Manoj Yadav applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. in a case alleging violation of Section 30(a) of the Excise Act for the alleged recovery of 936 litres of liquor from an old, jointly‑owned house. The petitioner argued that he was not in actual possession, the house was dilapidated and uninhabited, and that the concept of deemed possession had been removed by the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act. The State opposed the bail, citing the petitioner’s five prior excise cases. The Court, after hearing both sides, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of a Rs 25,000 bond with two sureties, subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents; if more than five prior cases are found, the bail may be withdrawn. The order also required the petitioner to deposit Rs 7,500 with the Advocates’ Association. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when the alleged offence involves alleged possession of liquor in a jointly‑owned, uninhabited house.
- Whether the petitioner’s five prior excise cases preclude the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Effect of the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act on the doctrine of deemed possession.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
- Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- section 30
- section 438
- criminal antecedent
- possession
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6397 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-392 Year-2025 Thana- PHULPARAS District- Madhubani
======================================================
Manoj Yadav @ Manoj Kumar Yadav Son of Lakshmi Yadav @ Lakshmi
Narayan Yadav Resident of Village- Inarwa, Ward No. 05, P.S.- Phulparas,
District- Madhubani
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ratnakar Jha
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Arun Kumar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 04-02-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his arrest
in a case registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a)
of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the petitioner has antecedent five cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 936 litres of liquor from an old house
of the petitioner.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the house in
question is a joint family property and thus, it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it was the petitioner, who had kept the liquor in
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6397 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his knowledge
and after Amendment in the Excise Act, 2018, the concept of
deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away
with. It is also submitted that the house from which the alleged
recovery is said to have made is not inhabited by the family
members, since it is an old house and is in a dilapidated condition
and he came to be implicated at the instance of Chaukidar. It is
next submitted that police in majority of cases implicating
innocent persons either at the behest of Chaukidar, local person,
secret information and confessional statement in a mechanical
manner without holding a proper investigation. It is next submitted
that petitioner earlier also came to be implicated in similar manner.
5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
6. 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-bonds in the sum of
Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty 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 G.R.
No.581 of 2025 arising out of Phulparas P. S. Case No.392 of
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6397 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
3/3
2025, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of
the Cr.P.C.
7. The application stands allowed.
8. 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 more than five cases, then 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 five cases only, in that event, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
9. At this stage, the learned counsel appearing on behalf
of the petitioner based on instruction submits that petitioner
undertakes to deposit an amount of Rs.7500/- with Advocates’
Association, Patna High Court, Patna within a period of two weeks
from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-
U T
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