Poonam Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28243 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-396 Year-2021 Thana- NARPATGANJ District- Araria ====================================================== Poonam Devi Wife of Yoganand Sada @ Bhutto Sada R/o Village - Madhura Utar, Mushari Tola, Ward No. 09, P.S. - Narpatganj, Dist. - Araria. ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Nishant Kumar Sinha, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Ms. Shaheen Begum, A.P.P.

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 28-04-2026

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 offences punishable under Sections 272 and 273 of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

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 5 litres of liquor from a place near Verandah of the petitioner.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from her conscious possession and the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner who had kept the liquor

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28243 of 2026(2) dt.28-04-2026 2/3 in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within her 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 further submitted that petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the local person but then it is submitted that it does not appear probable that local person would have known who had concealed the liquor in the house.

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 appearing on behalf of the petitioner, let the petitioner, above-named, in the event of her arrest or surrender 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 Narpatganj P.S. Case No. 396 of 2021, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

7. However, it is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28243 of 2026(2) dt.28-04-2026 3/3 and if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed her 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. (Satyavrat Verma, J) Kundan/- U T