Patna High Court
LITA SORAN @ LEETA SORENversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The petitioner is entitled to provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of her antecedents, under Section 482(2) of the CrPC.
Summary
Lita Soran, a woman with a clean antecedent, feared arrest in a case alleging recovery of 36 litres of liquor from her joint family house under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. She argued that the liquor was not in her conscious possession, that the 2018 amendment abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and that she was implicated by a hostile chowkidar to pressure her husband. The State opposed her prayer for anticipatory bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on a bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedents under Section 482(2) of the CrPC. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- liquor
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6496 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-50 Year-2025 Thana- Telta District- Katihar
======================================================
LITA SORAN @ LEETA SOREN W/o- Mangal Soren @ Mangal Murmu
R/v- Hajiyar Ps- Telta Dist- Katihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Binod Kumar Yadav
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Akbar Ali
======================================================
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 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 and
allegation is of recovery of 36 litres of liquor from 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 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 her knowledge and after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6496 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of
deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away
with and she came to be implicated at the instance of chowkdiar
with whom her husband is on an inimical term. It is also
submitted that chowkidar implicated the petitioner only to
coerce her husband into submission.
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 her 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 Telta P.S.
Case No.50/2025, 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.6496 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
3/3
concealed her 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.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
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