Sukhari Sahni v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.32377 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-198 Year-2022 Thana- RIGA District- Sitamarhi ====================================================== Sukhari Sahni Son Of Bishuni Sahni Resident Of Village - Pakri, Ward No. 7, P.S. - Riga, District - Sitamarhi ... ... Petitioner/S

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Surendra Kishore Thakur For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr. Jharkhandi Upadhyay ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 30-04-2024

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned A.P.P. for the State.

2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 12 litres of liquor from the house of Bhagiya Devi. It is next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and he came to be implicated based on the fact that Bhagiya Devi is his wife. 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 also submitted that Bhagiya Devi was made to confess in police custody, the name of the petitioner which

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.32377 of 2024(2) dt.30-04-2024 2/2 does not have any evidentiary value when petitioner admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.

4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for 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 his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below within a period of six weeks from today, be released on 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 Riga P.S. Case No.198/2022, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.

6. It is made clear that the learned trial court before accepting the bail bonds of the petitioner 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, the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect to. (Satyavrat Verma, J) amit/- U T