Patna High Court
Sangita Devi @ Sangeeta DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The High Court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions.
Summary
Sangita Devi applied for anticipatory bail after learning that she might be arrested under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for the alleged recovery of 20,800 litres of liquor from her joint family house. She argued that she has a clean antecedent, is a woman, and that no liquor was found in her conscious possession at the time of arrest. The petitioner contended that the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, and that the FIR did not name the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed the bail, but the High Court considered the lack of direct possession, the clean record, and the statutory changes. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a Rs.500 bond, two sureties, and verification of her antecedent, with a provision to revoke bail if any prior case is discovered. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case of alleged possession of liquor under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act when the accused claims no conscious possession and a clean antecedent.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- excise law
- clean antecedent
- joint family property
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- High Court
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.89309 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-605 Year-2025 Thana- AURANGABAD TOWN District-
Aurangabad
======================================================
Sangita Devi @ Sangeeta Devi Wife of Late Bouna Chaudhary Resident of
Village- Bhiya Toli (Adari River), P.S.- Aurangabad (Town), District-
Aurangabad
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Binod Kumar Pandey, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Sharda Kumari, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 31-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case registered
for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise Act.
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 20.800 litres of liquor from the
house of the petitioner. 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 kept the liquor in the house or the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.89309 of 2025(3) dt.31-01-2026
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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 local
person but then 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, when petitioner
admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.
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 A.D.J.-cum-
Exclusive Special Excise Court No.-01, Aurangabad in
connection with Aurangabad (Town) P.S. Case No.605 of 2025,
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.89309 of 2025(3) dt.31-01-2026
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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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