Patna High Court
Dhanji Paswan @ Gudgedi PaswanversusThe 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 his antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Dhanji Paswan, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018, alleging that 14 litres of liquor were recovered from his joint family house. He argued that he had no conscious possession, the liquor could belong to other family members, and he had a clean criminal record. The State opposed the bail, contending the offence was cognizable. The High Court, considering the lack of direct possession and the petitioner’s clean antecedent, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond, sureties, and verification of his criminal history by the trial court. The order also required the petitioner to deposit a further amount with the Advocates’ Association and stipulated that the bail would be confirmed only if the verification affirmed his clean record.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code in view of the alleged possession of liquor under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018.
- Whether the alleged recovery of liquor from a joint family house establishes the petitioner’s possession and culpability.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- liquor
- Bihar Prohibition Act
- clean antecedent
- joint family property
- Section 482 CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6475 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-222 Year-2025 Thana- TARARI District- Bhojpur
======================================================
Dhanji Paswan @ Gudgedi Paswan S/O Sipahi Paswan R/O Village-
Bipandih, P.S.- Tarari, Distt.- Bhojpur, State- Bihar.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Navin Kumar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Braj Kishore Pd.(App)
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 04-02-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 14 litres of liquor from house of the petitioner. It is
next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as
such nothing was recovered from his 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 in the house was within his
knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act in the year
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6475 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender
has been done away with and he 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, when
petitioner admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. 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 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 Tarari
P.S. Case No.222/2025, subject to the conditions as laid down
under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter
shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one
case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6475 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
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.
7. At this stage, the learned counsel for the petitioner
based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to
deposit an amount of Rs.1500/- with Advocates’ Association,
Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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