Sarita Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24400 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-203 Year-2022 Thana- BELHAR District- Banka ====================================================== 1.

Sarita Devi wife of Late Ram Ji Murmu @ Late Jhakra Murmu resident of village -murforwa, ps- belhar, Dist- Banka 2.

Bhimlal Murmu @ Bhim Murmu son of Late Samra Murmu VillageMurforwa Ps- Belhar Dist- Banka ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Praveen Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Mohammed Arif ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 03-04-2024 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 offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.

3.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners are person with clean antecedent and petitioner No. 1 is a woman and allegation is of recovery of 10 litres of liquor from the house of Suraj Lal Soren, 9 litres from the house of petitioner No. 2 and 5 litres from the house of petitioner No. 1. 4.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24400 of 2024(2) dt.03-04-2024 2/3 recovered from their conscious possession and after the 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 house is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it were petitioners who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house within knowledge of the petitioner and they came to be implicated based on secret information which is the easiest way to implicate someone.

5.

Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioners.

6.

Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the event of their arrest or surrender before the learned trial court within a period of six weeks from today, be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) 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 Belhar P.S. Case No. 203 of 2022 subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.

7.

It is made clear that the learned trial court before

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24400 of 2024(2) dt.03-04-2024 3/3 accepting the bail bonds of the petitioners shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners and in the event if it is found that the petitioners have antecedent of even one case, in that event the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) SUMIT/- U T