Anju Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.27360 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-912 Year-2021 Thana- MANER District- Patna ====================================================== Anju Devi wife of Sukhali Manjhi @ Sukhal Manjhi Village- Chhitnawan Mushary PS- Maner Dist-Patna ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Rajeev Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Umeshanand Pandit ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 10-04-2024

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State.

2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of her arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 30(c), 32(iii), 34, 36 and 41 of the Excise Act.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has antecedent of two cases and is a woman the allegation is of recovery of 127 litres of liquor from twenty different houses as detailed I the F.I.R., out of which, 08 litres of liquor is said to have been recovered from the house of the petitioner.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from her conscious possession and after Amendment

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27360 of 2024(2) dt.10-04-2024 2/3 in the Excise Act, 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that even the house, which is a joint family property and thus, it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner, who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within her knowledge and he came to be implicated based on secret informant, which is the easiest way to implicate someone.

5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the bail application.

6. 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 bail on her furnishing bail-bonds in the sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Special Excise Judge, Danapur, Patna in connection with Maner P. S. Case No.912 of 2021, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.

7. The application stands allowed.

8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court before accepting the bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27360 of 2024(2) dt.10-04-2024 3/3 found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two cases, in that event, the present anticipatory bail application shall not be given effect to.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) vikash/- U T