Meena Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.79615 of 2023 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-50 Year-2023 Thana- MEHUSH District- Sheikhpura ====================================================== 1.

Meena Devi W/O Ishwar Dhadi R/O Village- Mehush, P.S- Mehush And Distt.- Sheikhpura.

2.

Putul Kumari D/O Ishwar Dhadi R/O Village- Mehush, P.S- Mehush And Distt.- Sheikhpura.

3.

Priyanka Kumari D/O Ishwar Dhadi R/O Village- Mehush, P.S- Mehush And Distt.- Sheikhpura.

4.

Subhdra Kumari D/O Ishwar Dhadi R/O Village- Mehush, P.S- Mehush And Distt.- Sheikhpura.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Nilendu Kumar Choudhary For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Indu Kumari Srivastava ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH SINGH ORAL ORDER 05-01-2024 Learned counsel for the petitioners is permitted to remove the defect(s), as pointed out by the office, if any, within a period of three weeks from today.

2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

3. The petitioners are apprehending their arrest in connection with Mehush P.S. Case No. 50 of 2023 dated 29.09.2023 registered for the offence punishable u/s 30(a) and 30(d) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.

4. As per the prosecution case, total 7.5 litres of

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.79615 of 2023(2) dt.05-01-2024 2/3 country-made liquor was recovered from the chaff house of the petitioners.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners have falsely been implicated in this case. The petitioners have no criminal antecedent as stated in para 3 of the bail petition. The petitioners are ladies. No incriminating article has been recovered from the conscious possession of the petitioners, hence no case is made out. Learned Counsel has relied on the judgment of Full Bench of Hon'ble Patna High Court in the case of Ram Vinay Yadav vs. State of Bihar reported in 2019 (2) PLJR 1089. The Full Bench in the case of Ram Vinay Yadav (supra) has held that an application for anticipatory bail in a case arising out of Bihar Excise and Prohibition Act can be maintained, despite the bar under Section 76 (2) of the Act, if on the basis of allegation made in the FIR, no offence under the said provision is made out.

6. Learned A.P.P. for the State have vehemently opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioners by submitting that the bar of Section 76(2) of the Act applies in this case.

7. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, let the above named petitioners, in the event of their

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.79615 of 2023(2) dt.05-01-2024 3/3 arrest/surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be enlarged on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail-bond of Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Court concerned, Sheikhpura in connection with Mehush P.S. Case No. 50 of 2023, subject to conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

8. This application stands allowed.

(Chandra Prakash Singh, J) atul/- U T