Soni Devi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1455 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-494 Year-2024 Thana- BARUN District- Aurangabad ====================================================== Soni Devi Wife of Vijay Chaudhary @ Kiman Chaudhary Resident of Village- Aajad Mohalla, P.S- Barun, Dist- Aurangabad ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Ashok Singh For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr. Pradeep Narain Kumar ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 05-02-2025

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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of one case and is a woman and allegation is of recovery of five litres of liquor from a house. It is next submitted 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. 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 petitioner, who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within her knowledge.

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1455 of 2025(2) dt.05-02-2025 2/2

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

5. 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 Court below within a period of six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5000/- (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 Barun P.S. Case No.494/2024, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.

6. It is made clear that the learned trial court shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case, in that event, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if on verification it is found that petitioner has antecedent of one case, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith. (Satyavrat Verma, J) amit/- U