Subodh Sahani v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13393 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-13 Year-2026 Thana- NAANPUR District- Sitamarhi ====================================================== 1.
Subodh Sahani S/O Parikshan Sahani R/O- Village-Raipur, P.S.- Nannpur, Dist- Sitamadhi.
2.
Lakshminiya Devi W/O Subodh Sahani R/O Village- Raipur, P.S.- Nannpur, Dist- Sitamadhi ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Shashank Shekhar For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr. Md. Nazir Ansari ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 10-03-2026
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that petitioner no.1 has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and petitioner no.2 is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 15 litres of liquor from a place near the hut of petitioner no.1. It is next submitted that petitioners were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from their conscious possession and even alleged recovery is
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13393 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026 2/3 from a place which does not belong to the petitioners but then is adjacent to the house of petitioner no.1 and they came to be implicated based on confessional statement of Dipu in police custody which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also submitted that 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 once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either through chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret information without holding a proper investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the event of their arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand) each 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 Nanpur P.S. Case No.13/2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13393 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026 3/3
6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners and in the event if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent of more than one case and petitioner no.2 has antecedent of even one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioners had concealed their antecedent before this court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed with but if after verification it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent of one case and petitioner no.2 is a person with clean antecedent, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J) amit/- U T