Patna High Court
SITA DEVIversusThe State Of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of her antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Sita Devi, sought anticipatory bail after the police alleged that 37 litres of liquor were recovered from her residence, invoking Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act. She contended that she has a clean antecedent, is a woman, and that the liquor was located in a joint family house, making it uncertain whether she had knowledge or control over it. The petitioner further argued that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the doctrine of deemed possession and that a chowkidar, who has a personal dispute with her husband, falsely implicated her. The State opposed the grant of anticipatory bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, ordered provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond and two sureties, directing the trial court to verify her antecedent and confirm the bail if she is found clean. The order also stipulated that any discovery of a prior case would lead to the bail not being confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act
- Whether the concept of deemed possession applies post the 2018 amendment to the Bihar Excise Act
- Whether the joint family nature of the property negates the presumption of possession by the petitioner
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- false implication
- Section 482
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6519 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-233 Year-2025 Thana- Gadhiya Bazar District- East Champaran
======================================================
SITA DEVI W/O Surendra Chaudhari R/O Vill.- Maripur Milik,Khodapur,
P.S.- Gadahiya Bazar, Dist.- East Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State Of Bihar Patna
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Vikash Kumar Pankaj
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Nand Kishore Prasad
======================================================
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 offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 37 litres of liquor from the house of
the petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from her conscious possession and after 2018
amendment in the Excise Act, the concept of deemed possession
and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6519 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
2/3
submitted that 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 knowledge of the petitioner and she came to
be implicated at the instance of Chowkidar with whom her
husband is on an inimical term. It is next submitted that the
Chowkidar falsely implicated the petitioner in order to coerce
her husband into submission, when petitioner admittedly is a
person with clean antecedent.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. 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 trial court
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 Gadahiya
Bazar P.S. Case No. 233 of 2025, subject to the conditions as
laid down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6519 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
3/3
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case
then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if 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)
Sumit/-
U T
Checking your session…
Lawyer court records for this case
Associated through the court’s case reference.