Patna High Court
Santosh YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- ALLOWED
- Bench
- ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY
Holding
The court denied bail, finding that the seriousness of the charges and the petitioner's criminal antecedents warranted continued detention.
Summary
Santosh Yadav was charged under multiple sections of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act and Section 27 of the Arms Act for a murder case arising from a family land dispute. He applied for bail, arguing there was no motive to kill and that the dispute, not personal enmity, caused the death. The State opposed bail, highlighting Yadav's three prior criminal cases. The court examined the facts, the nature of the alleged motive, and Yadav's criminal antecedents. Considering the seriousness of the offences and the risk of tampering with evidence, the court denied bail and ordered continued custody.
Issues considered
- What is the appropriate bail decision for the petitioner given the nature of the offences and alleged motive?
- Does the petitioner have a sufficient ground to claim lack of motive for the alleged murder?
- Do the petitioner's prior criminal cases affect the bail application?
Legislation cited
- Arms Act — s. 27
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act — s. 103(1), 115, 126(2), 3(5), 351(2), 354, 61
Subjects
- bail
- murder
- land dispute
- criminal antecedent
- Arms Act
- Narcotic Substances Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.15533 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-156 Year-2024 Thana- Patarghat District- Saharsa
======================================================
Santosh Yadav Son of Late Chhedi Yadav Resident of Village - Utti
Navtoliya, Ward No. 15, P.S. - Patarghat, Distt. - Saharsa. ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ashish Kumar Sinha, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Kalyan Shankar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY
ORAL ORDER
2 16-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
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and Section 27 of the Arms Act.
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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.15533 of 2026(2) dt.16-03-2026
2/3
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petitioner is named at serial number 5. Learned counsel for the
petitioner submits that there was no motive or intention to kill the
deceased as there was no enmity with him. The attention of this
Court has also been drawn to the statements made in Paragraphs
12 and 13 that there was a dispute within the family of the
deceased with regard to land and the same could have been the
reason for the death of the deceased.
5. Learned APP for the State opposes the prayer for bail
application and has submitted that the petitioner is having criminal
antecedent of three cases.
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District and Additional Sessions Judge-II, Saharsa in connection
with Patarghat P.S. Case No.156 of 2024.
(Ashok Kumar Pandey, J)
durgesh/-
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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.15533 of 2026(2) dt.16-03-2026
3/3
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