Ashok Chaudhary v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.54951 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-146 Year-2024 Thana- WAJIRGANJ District- Gaya ====================================================== Ashok Chaudhary S/o Sita Chaudhary R/o Village Pathula PS Wazirganj Dist Gaya ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Sanjay Kumar Sharma For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Ram Bilash Roy Raman ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 07-08-2024

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 the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is a person with clean antecedent.

4. Allegation is of recovery of 75 litres of liquor from a motorcycle parked in the house of Sadhu Chaudhary and 50 litres of liquor from the house of the petitioner.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted that petitioner has no concern or relation with Sadhu Chaudhary. It is next submitted that after amendment in the Excise Act in

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.54951 of 2024(2) dt.07-08-2024 2/3 the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is also submitted that 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 in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his knowledge and he came to be implicated based on the secret information which is the easiest way to implicate someone, when petitioner admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.

6. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.

7. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, let 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 court below where the case is pending/successor court in connection with Wazirganj P.S. Case No. 146 of 2024, 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 petitioner, shall verify the criminal

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.54951 of 2024(2) dt.07-08-2024 3/3 antecedent of the petitioner and 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) Kundan/- U T