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Patna High Court

Mukesh ChaudharyversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to specified conditions.

Summary

Mukesh Chaudhary applied for anticipatory bail after learning that he may be arrested in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of 27 litres of liquor from his jointly owned house. He argued that he was not arrested on the spot, had no conscious possession, and that the concept of deemed possession was abolished by the 2018 amendment, making it uncertain that he kept the liquor. The State opposed the bail. The Court, considering his clean antecedent and the factual circumstances, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, verification of his criminal record, and a deposit of Rs.1,500 with the Patna High Court Advocate Association. The order is conditional on the trial court’s verification of his antecedents, after which the bail may be confirmed or revoked.

Issues considered

  • Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022
  • Whether the doctrine of deemed possession applies post‑2018 amendment of the Excise Act
  • Whether joint family ownership of the premises negates presumption of possession by the petitioner
  • Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent warrants the grant of anticipatory bail

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Section 30(a)
  • Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
  • deemed possession
  • joint family property
  • clean antecedent
  • bail bond
  • Criminal Procedure Code

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.90563 of 2025
                         Arising Out of PS. Case No.-192 Year-2024 Thana- MANER District- Patna
                 ======================================================
                 Mukesh Chaudhary S/O Late Suresh Chaudhary R/O Village- Kagzi Mohalla,
                 P.S- Maner, District - Patna
                                                                        ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                 ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Mr. Vishwa Ranjan Choudhary, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr. Vinod Shanker Modi, A.P.P.
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   30-01-2026                  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 the

                   Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 199.5 litres of liquor from four different places out

                   of which 27 litres of liquor is alleged to have been recovered

                   from the house of the petitioner.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was

                   recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted

                   that the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it

                   cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner who
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90563 of 2025(2) dt.30-01-2026
                                            2/3




          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 in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and

          presumed offender has been done away with. It is next

          submitted that petitioner came to be implicated based on the

          secret information which is the easiest way to implicate

          someone without holding a proper investigation of the case.

                       5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for

          anticipatory bail of the petitioner.

                       6. Considering the submissions made by the learned

          counsel for the petitioner, let the petitioner above-named, in the

          event of his arrest or surrender before the learned trial court

          within a period of six weeks from today, be released on

          provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds 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 Maner

          P.S. Case No. 192 of 2024, subject to the conditions as laid

          down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the BNSS.

                       7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial

          court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if

          it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, it
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90563 of 2025(2) dt.30-01-2026
                                                       3/3




                     would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent

                     before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in

                     that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be

                     confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner 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 petitioner

                     based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to

                     deposit an amount of Rs.1,500/- with the Advocate Association

                     of the Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from

                     today.


                                                                          (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T


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