Usha Devi v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.44029 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-41 Year-2023 Thana- SHERGHATI District- Gaya ====================================================== 1.
Usha Devi W/O Krishna Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand 2.
Reshmi Devi W/O Ajay Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand 3.
Ramswaroop Chaudhary Son of Late Nirmal Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand 4.
Rajesh Chaudhary Son of Late Sukhdeo Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand 5.
Pradeep Chaudhary @ Pradeep Kumar Chaudhary Son of Nanhaku Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand 6.
Ramti Devi W/O Basant Chaudhary R/O Vill.- Kharauna, P.S.- Hunterganj, Dist.- Chatra, Jharkhand ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State Of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Vinod Kumar, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr. Suresh Prasad Singh, A.P.P.
====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 04-07-2024
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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that petitioners are persons with clean antecedent and petitioners no. 1, 2 and 6 are women.
4. Allegation is of recovery of 60 litres of liquor out
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.44029 of 2024(2) dt.04-07-2024 2/3 of which 5 litres of liquor is alleged to have been recovered from Meena Devi near Dhirja bridge and Meena Devi disclosed the name of the accused persons including the petitioners with regard to the rest liquor recovered from the said place as detailed in the FIR.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that petitioners were not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from their conscious possession and even the alleged recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioners and is accessible to public at large. It is next submitted that petitioners came to be implicated based on the confessional statement of apprehended accused in police custody which does not have any evidentiary value in the eye of law, when admittedly petitioners are persons with clean antecedent.
6. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
7. 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 Court below within a period of six weeks from today, be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.500/- (Rupees
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.44029 of 2024(2) dt.04-07-2024 3/3 Five Hundred) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned court below where the case is pending/successor court in connection with Sherghati (Dobhi) P.S. Case No. 41 of 2023, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.
8. However, the learned trial court, before accepting the bail bonds of the petitioners, shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and if it is found that petitioners have antecedent of even one case in that event the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect to. (Satyavrat Verma, J) Kundan/- U T