Patna High Court
Dilip PaswanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court ordered provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of antecedents, and conditioned its confirmation on the petitioner having at most one prior case.
Summary
The petitioner, Dilip Paswan, feared arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged recovery of liquor from a motorcycle and his joint‑family house. He argued that he was not in actual possession, was not the owner of the seized vehicle, and that the house was jointly owned, making it uncertain that he stored the liquor. He also contended that the 2018 amendment abolished the doctrine of deemed possession and that the only evidence was a confessional statement made by Shyam Manjhi in police custody, which lacks evidentiary value. The State opposed his prayer for anticipatory bail. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail on condition of a Rs.5,000 bond with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify his criminal antecedents, confirming bail only if he has a single prior case. The order is subject to Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. and may be revoked if more than one antecedent is found.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act given the facts of alleged possession and the nature of evidence.
- Whether the confessional statement made in police custody can form a basis for denial of bail.
- Effect of the 2018 amendment removing the concept of deemed possession on the bail application.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30
- confessional statement
- joint family property
- deemed possession
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.84900 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-312 Year-2025 Thana- KALYANPUR District- Samastipur
======================================================
Dilip Paswan S/O Shatrudhan Paswan @ Satrughan Paswan R/O Village -
Rambhadrapur, P.S - Kalyanpur, District - Samastipur, Bihar.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Vinay Kumar Mishra
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Syed Mojibur Rahman
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 20-01-2026 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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 4 litres of liquor from a motorcycle
and 58 litres of liquor from house of the petitioner. It is next
submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such
nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and is not
the owner of the seized vehicle and 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84900 of 2025(3) dt.20-01-2026
2/3
liquor kept in the house was within his 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 he came to be implicated based on confessional
statement of Shyam Manjhi 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 petitioner.
5. 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 from today, be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of
Rs.5000/- (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
Kalyanpur P.S. Case No.312/2025, subject to the conditions as
laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter
shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than
one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84900 of 2025(3) dt.20-01-2026
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concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification 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)
amit/-
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