Patna High Court
Rupesh Yadav @ Rupesh KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL GRANTED
- Bench
- RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
Holding
The court held that, given the petitioner’s clean antecedent, alleged political rivalry, and the bail granted to similarly situated co‑accused, bail should be released subject to prescribed conditions.
Summary
Rupesh Yadav, arrested on 14‑12‑2022 for alleged murder under IPC sections 302/34 and Arms Act section 27, sought bail after a prior bail application was dismissed and a Special Leave Petition was withdrawn. He contended that he has a clean antecedent and was falsely implicated due to political rivalry, noting that other co‑accused were either exonerated or granted bail in similar circumstances. The prosecution opposed the bail, emphasizing the seriousness of the offences. The High Court considered the petitioner’s clean record, the alleged political motive, and the precedent of bail to co‑accused, and consequently ordered his release on bail with a bond of Rs.10,000 and two sureties, subject to conditions of cooperation, non‑tampering with evidence, and verification of antecedents. The order directed the lower court to implement the bail without delay for verification purposes.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted to an accused charged with murder (IPC 302/34) and violation of the Arms Act (Sec 27) considering the petitioner’s clean antecedent and alleged political motive.
- Whether the grant of bail to similarly situated co‑accused influences the decision to grant bail to the petitioner.
Legislation cited
- Arms Act — s. 27
- Indian Penal Code — s. 302, 34
Subjects
- bail
- murder
- IPC 302
- IPC 34
- Arms Act 27
- political rivalry
- clean antecedent
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.158 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-82 Year-2022 Thana- MORKAHI District- Khagaria
======================================================
Rupesh Yadav @ Rupesh Kumar Son of Botal Yadav @ Surendra Yadav
Village -Santosh ward no 10 P.O -Chatar P.S- Alauli District -Khagaria
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Vivekanand Singh, Advocate
Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, Advocate
Mr. Ankit Kumar Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Nand Kishore Prasad, APP
For the Informant : Mr. Piyush Tiwari, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
ORAL ORDER
5 16-01-2026 Heard Mr. Vivekanand Singh, learned senior
counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Piyush Tiwari, learned counsel for
the informant and Mr. Nand Kishore Prasad, learned Additional
Public Prosecutor for the State.
2. Petitioner seeks bail who is in custody since
14.12.2022 in connection with Morkahi P.S. Case No. 82 of
2022, F.I.R. dated 03.08.2022 for the offences punishable under
Sections 302/34 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act.
3. Earlier the petitioner has moved before this Court
for grant of regular bail in Cr. Misc. No. 21342 of 2023 but the
same was dismissed vide order dated 12.07.2023 by a Co-
ordinate Bench of this Court. Thereafter, the petitioner has
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moved before the Hon' ble Apex Court in Special Leave Petition
(Criminal) Diary No. (S) 52342 of 2023 but the was withdrawn
vide order dated 04.06.2024.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has clean antecedent and he has falsely been
implicated in the present case. As per the allegation in the F.I.R,
the petitioner and other accused persons have fired upon the
deceased due to which he sustained several firearm injuries on
his body. He further submits that he has falsely been implicated
in the present case due to political rivalry as the deceased was
elected for PACS President post and the petitioner and his
family members were the rival contestants. According to the
F.I.R, the alleged occurrence took place on 01.08.2022 but the
present F.I.R has been instituted on 03.08.2022 i.e., after delay
of 2 days without giving any explanation of the said delay,
afterthought only to falsely implicate the petitioner. From
perusal of the F.I.R it appears that co-accused, Sanjay Yadav
fired upon the head of the deceased, this petitioner open fired
second shot between the chest and belly of the deceased, co-
accused Botal Yadav @ Surendra Yadav open fired third shot in
between thigh and hydrocele and co-accused Subhas Kumar
Yadav open fired fourth shot on the hand of the deceased. The
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deceased was brought to the Sadar Hospital where the doctor
declared him dead. He further submits that as per the allegation,
co-accused Sanjay Yadav fired on the head of the deceased and
the deceased after sustaining firearm injury fell down from his
motorcycle and Subhas Kumar Yadav fired fourth shot on his
hand but during the course of investigation, the I.O. submitted
Chargesheet No. 60 of 2023 and exonerated the co-accused
Sanjay Yadav and Subhas Kumar Yadav from the charges and
has not sent them up to face the trial. He further submits that the
police after investigation submitted the charge sheet against the
petitioner. He further submits that similarly situated, co-accused,
namely, Jitesh Kumar has been granted bail by this Court vide
order dated 24.04.2023 passed in Cr. Misc. No. 65993 of 2022
and co-accused, Botal Yadav @ Surendra Yadav against whom
there is allegation of firing has been granted bail by a Co-
ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 08.12.2025 passed
in Cr. Misc. No. 77250 of 2025 and the said Botal Yadav is the
father of the petitioner. From perusal of the postmortem report it
appears that the cause of death is firearm injury and there are
several firearm injuries found on the body of the deceased
where one of the injury was inflicted by the petitioner. Two of
the co-accused persons have been exonerated by the
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prosecution. The petitioner is in custody since 14.12.2022.
5. Learned counsel for the informant as well as learned
Additional Public Prosecutor have vehemently opposed the
prayer for bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances
that the petitioner has clean antecedent, due to political rivalry
the name of the petitioner has been transpired in the present
case, similarly situated co-accused persons have been granted
bail as well as period of custody, let the petitioner, above named,
be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Ten
Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of the learned Additional Sessions Judge-V,
Khagaria in connection with Morkahi P.S. Case No. 82 of 2022,
subject to the following conditions:-
i. Petitioner shall co-operate in the trial and shall be
properly represented on each and every date fixed by the court
and shall remain physically present as directed by the court and
on his absence on two consecutive dates without sufficient
reason, his bail bond shall be cancelled by the Court below.
ii. If the petitioner tampers with the evidence or the
witnesses, in that case, the prosecution will be at liberty to
move for cancellation of bail.
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iii. And further condition that the court below shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in case at
any stage it is found that the petitioner has concealed his
criminal antecedent, the court below shall take step for
cancellation of bail bond of the petitioner. However, the
acceptance of bail bonds in terms of the above-mentioned order
shall not be delayed for purpose of or in the name of
verification.
(Rajesh Kumar Verma, J)
Vanisha/-
U T
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