In Vishal Kumar @ Vishal Singh vs. The State of Bihar (2025), Supreme Court's Division Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria passed a 4-page order dated August 26, 2025, wherein, it set aside the impugned order dated February 28, 2025 by Justice Prabhat Kumar Singh of Patna High Court and granted anticipatory bail in a murder case.
The appellant who has been arraigned as accused in connection with FIR No.437/2023 dated October 19, 2023 registered for the offence punishable under Sections 302, 201 and 120B of Indian Penal Code, (IPC) is seeking anticipatory bail. The gist of the prosecution case is that on October 1, 2022 the complainant’s five year old son who was playing in front of the house had been killed by accused person(s) and in the mele the complainant and his wife were also injured. Though the incident occurred on October 1. 2022, the complaint came to be lodged before the jurisdictional court on August 31, 2023 which resulted in registration of the FIR on October 19, 2023. It was not in dispute that there was no post-mortem carried out. As to the complicity of the appellant in the death of the complainant’s son, was an issue which was required to be examined after the prosecution witnesses were examined, namely, as to the actual role played by the appellant, if any.
Section 201 of IPC reads:"Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender.—Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false, if a capital offence.—shall, if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable with death be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; if punishable with imprisonment for life.—and if the offence is punishable with 1[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; if punishable with less than ten years’ imprisonment.—and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of the imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both."
Section 120B of IPC reads: "Punishment of criminal conspiracy.—(1) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, 1[imprisonment for life] or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.
(2) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.]"
The Supreme Court observed:"....any examination of the material gathered during the course of investigation by evaluating the same by this court at this stage, would affect the trial. Hence, we do not propose to go into those aspects at this stage and in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the considered view that appellant deserves to be enlarged on bail. 6. Hence, the appeal stands allowed by setting aside the impugned order dated 28.02.2025 and appellant is directed to be enlarged on anticipatory bail."
In Vishal Kumar @ Vishal Singh vs. The State of Bihar (2025), Justice Singh had passed an order dated February 28, 2025, which reads: "Considering the nature of accusation and other circumstances of the case , prayer for pre – arrest bail of the petitioner is hereby rejected." The petitioner had apprehended his arrest in a case registered for the offence punishable under sections 302, 201 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The prosecution's case is that on the alleged date and time occurrence, while the informant and her five years old son were playing in front of their house, in the meanwhile, all the accused persons including the petitioner came there and co-accused Priyanshu Kumar and the petitioner assaulted son of informant as a result of which he died. It was submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner was innocent and had committed no offence.
On August 18, 2023 one Kunkun Singh, Murari Singh and Niwas Singh came to the house of petitioner and made fire upon Vishal Kumar, the petitioner and his wife due to which they sustained fire arm injury and were taken to Patna medical College Hospital for treatment and thereafter, on August 19, 2023, Khaira PS case of 2023 was lodged by the petitioner against accused persons of the case in which one Mithilesh Singh alias Kunkum Singh was arrested and only in retaliation wife of Mithilesh Singh alias Kunkun Singh lodged the case against petitioner. The counsel for the State and the informant opposed the bail petition and submitted that petitioner was named in the F.I.R., with specific accusation that the petitioner along with other co-accused persons assaulted son of informant as a result of which he died.
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