Patna High Court
Ajit Paswan @ Bucha PaswanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties, and verification of antecedents, with confirmation contingent on the outcome of that verification.
Summary
The petitioner, Ajit Paswan, sought anticipatory bail in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged recovery of 50 litres of liquor from his house. He argued that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, the house is a joint family property, and the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail, contending that the allegations warranted arrest. The Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of furnishing a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents before confirming the bail. If more than one antecedent is found, the bail will not be confirmed; if only one antecedent is found, the bail will be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when alleged possession of liquor is not proven and the property is jointly owned.
- Effect of the 2018 amendment removing deemed possession on bail considerations under the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent influences the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Appropriateness of imposing conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS for provisional anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
- joint family property
- possession
- criminal antecedent
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.83440 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-869 Year-2025 Thana- PIRBAHOR District- Patna
======================================================
Ajit Paswan @ Bucha Paswan Son of Rohan Paswan Resident of Mohalla-
Naya Gaon, P.S.- Pirbahore, District- Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ravi Nandan
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Syed Mojibur Rahman
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 19-01-2026 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 offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 50 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 his 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.83440 of 2025(3) dt.19-01-2026
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 he came to be
implicated at the instance of local people, 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. It is further submitted that once an accused is
implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts
implicating mechanically either at the instance of Chowkidar,
local person, confessional statement or secret information
without holding a proper investigation.
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 his 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. 5,000/- (Rupees
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 Pirbahore P.S. Case
No. 869 of 2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83440 of 2025(3) dt.19-01-2026
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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
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one
case then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner has
antecedent of one case in that event the provisional anticipatory
bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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