Registrar General, Patna High Court issues circular to all Principal District & Sessions Judges, Bihar State Bar Council to comply with Supreme Court's directions in Zeba Khan vs. State of U.P.

The Registrar General of Patna High Court has issued a 3-page long circular order dated July 2, 2026 on the subject of judgment dated February 11, 2026 passed by the Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 825 of 2026 which arose out of SLP (Crl.) No. 12669 of 2025 (Zeba Khan Versus State of U.P. & Ors.). In compliance with the observation made by the Supreme Court in para 48, 49 and 50 of its judgment the following directions have been issued to the District Judiciaries:-

l. Every pleading filed/presented in relation to bail matters before the District Judiciary shall appropriately disclose the following details:-
(i) Full particulars of the case from which the application arises including FIR Number and Date; Police Station, District and State or Complaint Case Number and the Court before which it is pending; Sections invoked and Maximum punishment prescribed; 

(ii) Detail of custody and procedural compliance i.e. date of arrest and total period of custody undergone;

(iii) Current status of trial i.e. Stage of proceedings (Investigation/Chargesheet/ Cognizance/ Framing of Charges/Trial), total number of witnesses cited in the chargesheet and number of prosecution witnesses examined;

 (iv) Detail of criminal antecedents including FIR number and police station or Complaint Case number and the name of the Court, section of offences and status i.e. Pending/ Acquitted/ Convicted;

(v) Detail of previous bail applications i.e. Whether the applicant had earlier approached any Court including the High Court or Supreme Court on any previous occasion for bail and if so, the case number, name of the court and outcome of the case; 

(vi) Detail of Coercive Processes i.e. whether any non-bailable warrant was issued and whether declared a proclaimed offender. 

The circular order reads: "The aforementioned instructions shall be followed scrupulously henceforth  by all concerned and its non-compliance shall be viewed seriously. A copy of the circular has been forwarded to the Secretary General, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi and the Chairman, Bihar State Bar Council, Patna with a request to forward this circular order to all the Bar Associations of the State for wide circulation amongst Bar. All the Principal District & Sessions Judges of Bihar have asked to circulate the circular order amongst the Bar and the Bench in their respective Judgeships for its strict compliance. A copy has also been forwarded to the Director, Bihar Judicial Academy, Gaighat, Patna.