Showing posts with label Sections 147. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sections 147. Show all posts

Monday, August 11, 2025

Supreme Court extends time by six months for disposal of trial at Khagaria Court's request

In Anuj Yadav Devi vs. The State Of Bihar (2025), Supreme Court's Division Bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and N. K. Singh passed an order dated August 8, 2025. It reads:'A letter has been received from Additional Sessions Judge – II, Khagaria, Bihar forwarded by High Court of Patna, requesting therein to extend the time for six months to dispose of the trial. As prayed for, the time for disposal of the trial is extended by six months. The Miscellaneous Application stands allowed.' The case was taken up by Courts Motion. 

Prior to this in its order dated December 13, 2024, Court's Division Bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar had passed an order which reads: 'We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order. However, taking into consideration the fact that the trial has already begun, we request the Trial court to expedite the hearing and conclude the same within a period of six months from today. The Special Leave Petition is, accordingly, dismissed.' This SLP arose out of impugned final judgment and order dated December 8, 2023 passed by Justice Mohit Kumar Shah of Patna High Court.

In Anuj Yadav Devi vs. The State Of Bihar (2023), Justice Shah had passed a 3-page long order dated December 8, 2023. The order reads: 'The present petition is by way of second attempt at the behest of the petitioner for grant of regular bail in connection with Khagaria (Mufassil) P.S. Case No.206 of 2018, registered for the offence punishable under Sections 147, 148, 149, 341, 323, 307, 448 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act, inasmuch as the earlier prayer of the petitioner for grant of bail was rejected by this Court by an order dated 17.01.2023, passed in Cr.Misc.No. 60192 of 2022.' The case of the prosecution, was that on April 4, 2018 at about 5 pm, the petitioner and other co-accused persons had arrived at the house of the informant, snatched ornaments and had taken away the mare and had also asked the informant to pay a sum of Rs.2 lakh for release of the mare. For the aforesaid incident, an FIR against the accused persons had been lodged by the mother of the informant on April 6, 2018. Again, on April 7, 2018, at about 6 am, while the brother of the petitioner was returning after attending the call of nature, the petitioner and other co-accused persons armed with rifle surrounded the brother of the informant and as far as the petitioner is concerned, he had fired with a rifle on the right eye of the brother of the informant resulting in his instantaneous death on the spot, whereafter other accused persons had also engaged in overt act. 

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was languishing in custody since May 12, 2022, but there was no progress in the ongoing trial, hence a sympathetic view be taken for the purposes of grant of regular bail to the petitioner.

Justice Shah's order reads: 'considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and taking into account the materials available on record this Court finds that not only the petitioner is the main assailant, who had fired gunshots on the brother of the informant, resulting in his instantaneous death, but there is also no change in the circumstances so as to warrant reconsideration of the prayer of the petitioner for grant of regular bail, thus I do not find any merit in the present petition, hence the same stands dismissed.' 


Friday, July 12, 2024

Supreme Court grants interim bail to a murder accused, against Patna High Court's grant of conditional bail

Supreme Court's bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih granted interim bail on July 12, 2024 after hearing an appeal against a Patna High Court's order dated April 19, 2024 granting conditional bail in Jitendra Paswan Vs State of Bihar (2024). The order of Justice Dr. Anshuman of the High Court stated that the murder accused be released on bail after six months. The appeal against the High Court's order was filed on June 26, 2024 and registered on July 5, 2024. It was verified on July 6, 2024. 

The High Court's order reads: "let the petitioner Jitendra Paswan in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 7478 of 2024 be released on bail, but after six month from today, on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.30,000/- (Rupees Thirty thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of ACJM-XIV, Gopalganj in connection with Vijaipur P.S. Case No. 265 of 2021, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 437(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure with other following conditions:
(i) One of the bailors should be the family member of the petitioners who shall provide an official document to show his bona fide;
(ii) the petitioners shall appear on each and every date before the Trial Court and failure to do so for two consecutive dates without plausible reason will entail cancellation of his bail bonds by the Trial Court itself;
(iii) the petitioners shall appear before the concerned police station every month for one year to mark attendance;
(iv) the petitioners shall in no way try to induce or promise or threaten the witnesses or tamper with the evidence, failing which the State shall be at liberty to take steps for cancellation of the bail bonds; and
(v) the petitioners shall desist from committing any criminal offence again, failing which the State shall be at liberty to take steps for cancellation of the bail bonds." 

The High Court has recorded the submission of the Jitendra Paswan wherein he has submitted that he is innocent and has committed no offence. As per the FIR, he is only an order giver and there is no specific allegation against him. Moreover, the accusation has been levelled in the background of the land dispute. The petitioner is in custody since 26.09.2023 and is accused in 11 more criminal cases, but in all the cases, he has been granted bail

While granting the interim bail, the Supreme Court observed: "This is extremely strange. Some courts are granting bail for 6 months or 1 year and this is new trend now. It is like that I am granting you bail but I will release you after 6 months.". The next date of hearing is September 2, the State is supposed to file its reply before that.