Patna High Court
Manish Kumar @ Manish Kumar GuptaversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The application for anticipatory bail is allowed, with provisional bail granted subject to verification of antecedents and compliance with stipulated conditions.
Summary
The petitioners, two brothers and their sister, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 and several sections of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act, 2023, alleging that liquor recovered from their father’s joint family house could not be attributed to them. They argued that no liquor was found in their immediate possession, that the property is jointly owned, and that the concept of deemed possession was abolished by the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after hearing counsel, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on the filing of bail bonds of Rs 10,000 each with two sureties and verification of the petitioners’ criminal antecedents. The order stipulated that if any petitioner’s antecedent exceeds the disclosed limits, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, the provisional bail would be confirmed. The court also directed the petitioners to deposit Rs 2,500 with the Advocates’ Association within two weeks.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioners are entitled to anticipatory bail despite alleged possession of liquor in a joint family house.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession applies post‑2018 amendment to the Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioners’ criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act, 2023 — s. 132, 190, 191(2)(3), 263, 324(4)(5), 351(2)(3), 352
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- provisional bail
- excise law
- joint family property
- deemed possession
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.84386 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-304 Year-2025 Thana- NADI P.S. District- Patna
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1. Manish Kumar @ Manish Kumar Gupta Son of Sanjay Kumar Mohalla-
Fatehjampur PS- Nadi Dist -Patna
2. Manjeet Kumar @ Manjeet Kumar Gupta Son of Sanjay Kumar Mohalla-
Fatehjampur PS- Nadi Dist -Patna
3. Chhoti Kumari Daughter of Sanjay Kumar Mohalla- Fatehjampur PS- Nadi
Dist -Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Tilak Sao, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rajiv Nayan, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 31-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 as well as Sections
191(2)(3), 190, 132, 324(4)(5), 263, 352 and 351(2)(3) of
B.N.S., 2023.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 has antecedents of two cases under the Excise
Act, petitioner no.2 has antecedent of one case under the Excise
Act and petitioner no.3 is a person with clean antecedent and is
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a woman and allegation is of recovery of 510 ml. of liquor from
the house of Sanjay Kumar. It is next submitted that petitioners
were not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered
from their conscious possession and they came to be implicated
based on the fact that the house from which the alleged recovery
was made belongs to their father and uncle. It is further
submitted that the house in question is a joint family property, as
such, it cannot be alleged with certainty that it were 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 merely for the reason that they are sons and
daughter of Sanjay Kumar when from perusal of the allegations,
as alleged in the FIR, it would manifest that no specific
allegation is alleged against them.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
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, are directed to be released on
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provisional anticipatory bail on their furnishing bail-bonds in
the sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) each with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned
Exclusive Special Court of Excise, Patna City in connection
with Nadi P.S. Case No.304 of 2025, subject to the conditions
laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioners shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and in the event,
if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedents of more than
two cases, petitioner no.2 has antecedent of more than one case
and petitioner no.3 has antecedent of even one case, then it
would be presumed that petitioners for the purposes of obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed their 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 no.1 has antecedents of only two cases, petitioner
no.2 has antecedent of only one case and petitioner no.3 is a
person with clean antecedent, in that event, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioners,
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based on instruction, submits that petitioners undertake to
deposit an amount of Rs.2500/- with Advocates’ Association,
Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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