Patna High Court
Dasanand MandalversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- ALLOWED
- Bench
- NAWNEET KUMAR PANDEY
Holding
The appeal is allowed; the order rejecting anticipatory bail is set aside and bail is granted to the appellants.
Summary
The appellants were accused of forcibly entering the informant's house, assaulting her family, looting jewellery worth Rs. 2 lakh, and abducting the informant's daughter‑in‑law, with the prosecution invoking several sections of the Bihar Non‑tribal Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The appellants contended they were falsely implicated, pointing out familial ties between the informant's son and the appellant's daughter and alleging that the dispute stemmed from a private grievance, not malicious caste animus. The informant opposed bail, asserting that the appellants had used caste slurs and committed public assault, thereby attracting the SC/ST Act. The High Court examined whether the allegations satisfied the threshold of a caste‑based atrocity and whether anticipatory bail could be granted. Finding that the root cause was not caste hatred and noting the appellants' clean antecedents, the Court set aside the lower court's order rejecting anticipatory bail and directed that bail be granted upon furnishing a bond.
Issues considered
- Whether the allegations against the appellants constitute an offence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in view of the nature of the alleged offences.
- Whether the dispute arose from malicious caste feeling or a private grievance.
Legislation cited
- SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — s. 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2)(va)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- SC/ST Act
- caste violence
- assault
- robbery
- bail
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No.4380 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-323 Year-2025 Thana- BABUBARHI District- Madhubani
======================================================
1. Dasanand Mandal S/o- Suraj Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
2. Devanand Mandal S/o- Suraj Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
3. Vidyanand Mandal S/o- Suraj Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
4. Nirsu Mandal S/o- Ram Kishun Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
5. Raj Kumar Mandal S/o- Sirphal Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
6. Laxman Yadav S/o- Bauelal Yadav Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi, Distt-
Madhubani
7. Renu Devi W/o- Devanand Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi, Distt-
Madhubani
8. Rukmani Devi w/o- Dasanand Mandal Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi,
Distt-Madhubani
9. Phul Kumari @ Phul Kumari Devi @ Phul Devi W/o- Veer Yadav Vill-
Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi, Distt-Madhubani
10. Awdhesh Mandal S/o- Sitaram Mandal Vill-Belarahi,P.S-Jhanjarpur, Distt-
Madhubani
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Sushila Devi w/o- Rameshwar Ram Vill-Jagannathpur,P.S-Babubarhi, Distt-
Madhubani
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Appellant/s : Mr. Manoj Kumar Pandey
Mr. Kumari Pallavi
For the State : Mr. Sadanand Paswan
For the Informant : Mr. Shailendra Kr. Jha
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAWNEET KUMAR
PANDEY
ORAL ORDER
3 23-02-2026 Heard the learned counsel for the appellants as well
as the informant and learned APP for the State.
Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4380 of 2025(3) dt.23-02-2026
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2. This memo of appeal has been preferred against the
order dated 24.09.2025 passed by S.M.F. Bari, the learned
Additional Sessions Judge-I-cum-Special Judge (SC/ST)
Madhubani, Distt- Madhubani whereby and whereunder the
anticipatory bail application of the appellants have been rejected
in ABP No. 1818 of 2025 (G.R. No. 111 of 2025) in connection
with Babubarhi P.S. Case No. 323 of 2025 instituted for the
offence under Sections 137(2), 126(2), 115(2), 352, 351(2),
324(4), 303(2), 191(2) of the BNS and Section 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s),
3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act and presently pending in the Court of
learned A.D.J. I-cum-Special Judge, SC/ST Act, Madhubani,
Distt- Madhubani.
3. As per the prosecution case, on 18.07.2025, ten
accused persons forcibly entered the informant’s house and
abused her and her family by taking their caste name. They also
looted jewelry worth Rs. 2 lakhs. During the assault, they
outraged the informant’s modesty and forcibly abducted her
daughter-in-law.
4. Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted
that the appellants are innocent and have falsely been implicated
in the present case. The informant, herself, admits that daughter
of appellant no. 7 is residing in her house. This revelation in FIR
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shows that root cause of the matter is not malicious feeling of
caste. It has further been submitted that the appellant no. 7 had
lodged Babubarhi P.S. Case No. 62 of 2025 against members of
the informant side. The appellants are persons of clean
antecedents.
5. Learned counsel for the informant vehemently
opposed the prayer for bail of the appellants and submitted that
the appellants abused the informant and her family members by
calling caste name and also assaulted them in public view. As
such, the provisions of SC/ST Act is attracted in the present
case.
6. The root cause of occurrence is not the malicious
feeling of caste. The appellant no. 7 has already lodged a case
against the members of informant side. The informant, herself,
admits that her son has solemnized marriage with daughter of
appellant no. 7.
7. Considering the above-mentioned facts and
circumstance, the appeal is allowed and the impugned order
dated 24.09.2025 passed by S.M.F. Bari, the learned Additional
Sessions Judge-I-cum-Special Judge (SC/ST) Madhubani, Distt-
Madhubani, in ABP No. 1818 of 2025 (G.R. No. 111 of 2025) in
connection with Babubarhi P.S. Case No. 323 of 2025, is set
Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4380 of 2025(3) dt.23-02-2026
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aside.
8. Accordingly, let the appellants, in the event of their
arrest or surrender within four weeks before the learned court
below, be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/-
(Ten Thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to
the satisfaction of the learned learned A.D.J. I-cum-Special
Judge (SC/ST), Madhubani, Distt-Madhubani in connection
Babubarhi P.S. Case No. 323 of 2025.
(Nawneet Kumar Pandey, J)
priyanka/-
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