Pratima Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.42457 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-89 Year-2024 Thana- KADWA District- Katihar ====================================================== Pratima Devi, Wife Of Dinesh Rishi, Resident Of Village - Kamravitta Adiwasi Tola, P.S. - Kadwa, District - Katihar ... ... Petitioner/S

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Bhola Prasad For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Kumar Ranjit Ranjan ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 05-07-2024

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 Section 30(a) of the Excise Act.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman the allegation is of recovery of 40 litres of liquor 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 in the Excise Act, 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with and even the

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42457 of 2024(2) dt.05-07-2024 2/3 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 she came to be implicated at the instance of Chaukidar with whom her husband is on an inimical term.

5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory 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.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Additional District & Sessions Judgecum- Exclusive Excise Court No.2, Katihar in connection with Kadwa P. S. Case No.89 of 2024, 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 found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, in that

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42457 of 2024(2) dt.05-07-2024 3/3 event, the present anticipatory bail application shall not be given effect to.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) vikash/- U T