Lakhi Paswan v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.72237 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-205 Year-2024 Thana- KOTWA District- East Champaran ====================================================== Lakhi Paswan Son of Mogal Paswan @ Mangal Paswan Resident of village - Konhwa Jasauli Patti, P.S. - Kotwa, Distt.- East Champaran ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Jitendra Kumar, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr. Parmanand Prasad, A.P.P.

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 26-10-2024

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 16.44 litres of liquor from different places as detailed in the FIR including 5 litres of liquor from the hut 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 and the recovery is not from a hut but from the house. It is further submitted that after amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.72237 of 2024(3) dt.26-10-2024 2/3 deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with and 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. It is also submitted that the petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the Chawkidar with whom he is on an inimical term.

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 Kotwa P.S. Case No. 205 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 antecedent of the petitioner and if it is found that petitioner has

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.72237 of 2024(3) dt.26-10-2024 3/3 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