Patna High Court

Santra DeviversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 12 January 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SATYAVRAT VERMA

Holding

The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bail bonds, sureties and verification of her antecedents.

Summary

Santra Devi, a woman with no prior criminal record, feared arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018/2022 for alleged possession of 4.5 litres of liquor recovered from a field adjacent to her house. She argued that the liquor was not in her conscious possession, she was not arrested at the spot, and the investigation relied on secret information. The State opposed her request for anticipatory bail. The Court, considering the petitioner's clean antecedent and the circumstances, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of furnishing bail bonds and two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedents by the trial court. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.

Issues considered

Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the circumstances of the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
Whether the petitioner’s lack of conscious possession and clean antecedent justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
Whether the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. are appropriate.

Legislation cited

B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
prohibition law
liquor seizure
clean antecedent
Section 30(a)
Section 482(2)
bail conditions
criminal procedure

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.90981 of 2025
                        Arising Out of PS. Case No.-163 Year-2025 Thana- AGRER District- Rohtas
                 ======================================================
                 Santra Devi W/O JItendra Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Mahavirganj(Agrer), P.S-
                 Agrer,Dist- Rohtas
                                                                        ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                 ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Md. Anzarul Haque Sahara
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   12-01-2026                  1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

                   A.P.P. for the State.

                                2. The petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case

                   registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar

                   Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018/2022.

                                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 4.5 litres of liquor from a field in front

                   of 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 even alleged recovery is from a

                   place which does not belong to the petitioner but then is adjacent

                   to her house and she came to be implicated based on secret

                   information which is the easiest way to implicate someone without

                   holding a proper investigation.

                                4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90981 of 2025(2) dt.12-01-2026
                                                       2/2




                     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 her 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.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 Agrer P.S. Case

                     No.163/2025, 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 even one case,

                     in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed

                     her antecedent before this court, as such, the 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)
amit/-
U      T

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