Sunita Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.47181 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-166 Year-2024 Thana- DHAKA District- East Champaran ====================================================== SUNITA DEVI W/O- MANOJ RAI VILLAGE- AURAIYA, WARD NO. 07, P..S- DHAKA, DISTT.- EAST CHAMPARAN ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Anuj Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :

Ms. Pushpa Sinha ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 20-07-2024

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 Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of one case and is a woman and allegation is of recovery of 11.1 liters of liquor from the house of Manoj Rai who is the husband 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 after amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with and

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.47181 of 2024(2) dt.20-07-2024 2/3 even the house is a joint family property, as such, 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 by the local person, but then the name of the person who disclosed the name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.

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 for the petitioner, the petitioner above-named, in the event of her arrest or surrender before the learned trial court within a period of six weeks from today, be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) 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 Dhaka P.S. Case No. 166 of 2024 subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.

7. However, it is made clear 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.47181 of 2024(2) dt.20-07-2024 3/3 found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case in that event, the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect to.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Rishabh/- U T