Disposed

Archana Devi v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC23 Feb 2026CR. MISC./9940/2026

Case brief

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What is this about?

Anticipatory bail application in an Excise Act case involving recovery of liquor from a joint family house. Court granted provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bonds, subject to trial court verification of criminal antecedents; bail to be confirmed only if only one prior case exists.

What did the court decide?

Provisional anticipatory bail on Rs.5,000 bond with two like sureties, subject to verification of antecedents by trial court.

Archana Devi Vs The State of Bihar — Narcotics (NDPS) | Patna HC (2026)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.9940 of 2026

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Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1186 Year-2025 Thana- KATIHAR NAGAR District- Katihar

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======================================================

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Archana Devi W/o Santosh Chaudhary Resident of Village- Rani Ghat Bandh, P.S.- Katihar Town (Sahayak), District- Katihar

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Md Musowir, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Shaheen Begum, A.P.P. ======================================================

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER

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2 23-02-2026

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Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and

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learned A.P.P. for the State.

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The petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and is a woman and allegation is of recovery of 40 litres of liquor from the house of the petitioner.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from her conscious possession. It is further 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

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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.9940 of 2026(2) dt.23-02-2026 2/3

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was within her knowledge 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 next submitted that petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the local person but then the name of the person who disclosed the name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It is also submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise the police start implicating mechanically either at the instance of the Chawkidar, local person, secret information or confessional statement without holding a proper investigation of the case.

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

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Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, let the petitioner above-named, in the event of her arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5,000/- (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 Katihar Town (Sahayak) P.S. Case No. 1186 of 2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section

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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.9940 of 2026(2) dt.23-02-2026 3/3

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438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the BNSS.

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It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial

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court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed her antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner has antecedent of only one case in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

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(Satyavrat Verma, J)

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Kundan/-

Archana Devi v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

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Archana Devi v. The State of Bihar

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