Patna High Court
Nandlal SinghversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court ordered provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of antecedents, under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Summary
The petitioners, Nandlal Singh and Ankit Raj, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged possession of 866.52 litres of liquor recovered from a joint family house and an auto. They argued that no liquor was found in their conscious possession at the time of arrest and that the house being joint family property precludes certainty of ownership. They further contended that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and that the only evidence against them was a confessional statement made by a co‑accused in police custody, which lacks evidentiary value. The State opposed the anticipatory bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S., directing the trial court to verify the petitioners' criminal antecedents before confirming the bail.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when the alleged offence is based solely on a confessional statement and no conscious possession is established.
- Whether the 2018 amendment to the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, which removed the doctrine of deemed possession, bars the prosecution from proceeding against the petitioners.
- Whether the joint family nature of the property affects the presumption of possession under Section 30(a).
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- deemed possession
- confessional statement
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.67859 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-208 Year-2025 Thana- NAUGACHIA District- Bhagalpur
======================================================
1. Nandlal Singh son of Late Shivdhary Singh Resident of Village - Miltola
Naugachia, Police Station - Naugachia, Dist. - Bhagalpur.
2. Ankit Raj @ Manish Kumar Son of Nand Lal Singh Resident of Village -
Miltola Naugachia, Police Station - Naugachia, Dist. - Bhagalpur.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Dr. Manoj Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Md. Iftekhar Mahmood
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 07-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioners are persons with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 866.52 litres of liquor from the house of petitioner
no.1 and an auto. It is next submitted that petitioners were not
arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from their
conscious possession and the house in question is a joint family
property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it were
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petitioners, who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor
kept in the house was within their knowledge and after
amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of
deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away
with and they came to be implicated based on confessional
statement of Ranjit in police custody which does not have any
evidentiary value.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their 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) each 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
Naugachia P.S. Case No.208/2025, subject to the conditions as
laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court
thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners
and in the event if it is found that petitioners have antecedent of
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even one case, in that event, it would be presumed that
petitioners had concealed their antecedent before this court, as
such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed with but if after verification it is found that
petitioners are persons with clean antecedent, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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