Kakulati Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.83680 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-426 Year-2024 Thana- LADANIA District- Madhubani ====================================================== Kakulati Devi Wife of Chote Lal Paswan Resident of village - Pathrahi Sarsara, Ward No.- 11, P.S.- Ladaniya, District - Madhubani, Bihar. ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

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

Mr.Uma Shankar Prasad Singh ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 17-01-2026 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 Sections 274, 275 and 3(5) of BNS and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act. 3.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has antecedent of three cases out of which two cases are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 130 litres of liquor along with 3000 litres of half made liquor solution from the house of different named accused including the petitioner.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from her conscious possession and after 2018

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83680 of 2025(2) dt.17-01-2026 2/3 amendment in the Excise Act, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that the house in question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within knowledge of the petitioner. It is further submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either at the instance of Chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret information without holding a proper investigation. It is also submitted that it absolutely does not stand to reason that how the same quantity of liquor was recovered from the house of different accused persons.

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 Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen 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 Ladnaiya P.S. Case

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83680 of 2025(2) dt.17-01-2026 3/3 No. 426 of 2024, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.

7.

It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than three cases then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her antecedent before this Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of three cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Sumit/- U T