Patna High Court
Dhallu MandalversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to bond and verification of antecedents, because the prosecution failed to establish possession and the petitioner has a clean record.
Summary
The petitioner, Dhallu Mandal, applied for anticipatory bail anticipating arrest under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act for alleged possession of 30 litres of liquor. He argued that the case diary had not been produced, he had a clean antecedent, and the liquor was found in a joint‑family house, making ownership uncertain. He further contended that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The Patna High Court, noting the lack of concrete evidence, the petitioner’s clean record and the statutory change, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and verification of antecedents by the trial court. The order also required the petitioner to deposit Rs.1500 with the Advocates’ Association within two weeks.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in the absence of the case diary.
- Whether the amendment to the Excise Act (2018) eliminating deemed possession affects the prosecution’s case.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean criminal antecedent warrants bail.
- Whether the joint‑family nature of the property negates presumed possession.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
- Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 438 CrPC
- Excise Act
- deemed possession
- clean antecedent
- joint family property
- case diary
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.84332 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-914 Year-2025 Thana- KATIHAR NAGAR District- Katihar
======================================================
Dhallu Mandal S/o- Late Ande Lal Mandal @ Master Saheb Resident of
Village- Koriya Tola PS- Katihar Town, Dist- Katihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Raghvendra Kumar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Pronoti Singh
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 29-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his
arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under
Section 30(a) of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner submits that by order dated 17.12.2025 the case diary
was called for, but the same till date has not been received.
4. The Court will not wait endlessly for the case diary.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is
of recovery of 30 litres of liquor from the house of the
petitioner.
6. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84332 of 2025(3) dt.29-01-2026
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petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the house in
question is a joint family property and thus, it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it was the petitioner, who had kept the liquor
in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his
knowledge and after Amendment in the Excise Act, 2018, the
concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been
done away with and he came to be implicated at the instance of
local person, but the name of the person, who disclosed the
name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the F.I.R., which casts
an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.
7. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
8. 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 Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the
sum 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
Katihar Nagar P. S. Case No.914 of 2025, subject to the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84332 of 2025(3) dt.29-01-2026
3/3
conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
9. The application stands allowed.
10. It is made clear that the learned trial Court
after accepting the provisional bail bonds 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 his 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.
11. At this stage, the learned counsel appearing
on behalf of the petitioner based on instruction submits that
petitioner undertakes to deposit an amount of Rs.1500/- with
Advocates’ Association, Patna High Court, Patna within a
period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-
U T
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