Patna High Court
Manjula DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to a bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents.
Summary
Manjula Devi applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under IPC Sections 272, 273 and 34 and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 for alleged possession of liquor recovered from her house, which is a joint family property. She argued she has a clean antecedent, was not in actual possession, and was falsely implicated by a watchman hostile to her husband. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the submissions, directed that she be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedent and compliance with Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order was conditioned that if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in offences under IPC Sections 272, 273, 34 and Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 Section 30(a).
- Whether alleged possession of liquor in a joint family house establishes sufficient grounds to deny anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of conscious possession justify granting anticipatory bail.
- Whether the provisions of Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. apply to the grant of provisional anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
- Indian Penal Code — s. 272, 273, 34
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- joint family property
- liquor
- excise law
- IPC
- bail bond
- criminal antecedent
- false implication
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.83465 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-12 Year-2024 Thana- BABUBARHI District- Madhubani
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Manjula Devi Wife of Ajay Paswan @ Tara Paswan Resident of village -
Kulhariya, P.S.- Babubarhi, P.O.- Kulhariya, Dist.- Madhubani, Bihar.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Shyameshwar Dayal, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 19-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case registered
for the offences punishable under Sections 272, 273 and 34 of
the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
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 10 litres of liquor from house of the
petitioner and 8 litres of liuqor from house of Malu Devi. 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83465 of 2025(3) dt.19-01-2026
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kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was
within her 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 she came to be
implicated at the instance of Chowkidar with whom her husband
is on an inimical term. It is also submitted that Chowkidar
falsely implicated the petitioner in order to coerce her husband
into submission.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
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, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on her furnishing bail-bond in the
sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Court of
Additional Sessions Judge-II-cum-Special Judge, Excise Act,
Madhubani in connection with Babubarhi P.S. Case No.12 of
2024, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 482(2)
of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83465 of 2025(3) dt.19-01-2026
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7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bond of the petitioner shall verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, then it
would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed her antecedent before this Court,
in that event, the present 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)
Sanjay/-
U T
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