Patna High Court
Sanjay KumarversusThe State Of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- PURNENDU SINGH
Holding
The High Court disposed of the bail application, directing the parties to attempt settlement through mediation and granting interim protection to the petitioner pending such effort.
Summary
The petitioner, Sanjay Kumar, applied for pre‑arrest bail in a complaint alleging offences under IPC Sections 420, 465, 467 and 471 relating to an alleged illegal grabbing of land belonging to his cousin. The petitioner contended that the matter is essentially a civil land dispute, already pending in a partition suit, and that the complainant lacks locus standi. The State argued that the case could be settled amicably but did not oppose the direction for mediation. Relying on the Supreme Court’s pronouncements in Paramjeet Batra v. State of Uttarakhand and S.N. Vijayalakshmi v. State of Karnataka, the High Court held that where a civil remedy is available, the criminal proceeding may be stayed and the parties directed to mediation. The court ordered the parties to appear before the District Court and the District Mediation Centre, granting interim protection to the petitioner until a settlement is attempted, and disposed of the bail application.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to pre‑arrest bail in a complaint alleging IPC offences.
- Whether the complaint discloses a criminal offence or merely a civil dispute that can be resolved through mediation.
- Whether the High Court may invoke its power under Section 482 CrPC to stay or quash criminal proceedings when a civil remedy is available.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482
- Indian Penal Code — s. 420, 465, 467, 471
Subjects
- pre‑arrest bail
- civil dispute
- mediation
- Section 482 CrPC
- IPC offences
- land dispute
- quash criminal proceedings
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.49895 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-2990 Year-2019 Thana- VAISALI COMPLAINT CASE
District- Vaishali
======================================================
Sanjay Kumar S/o- Late Bhagwati Prasad @ Late Bhagwati Prasad Srivastava
Resident of Village- Goraul, P/S- Goraul, District- Vaishali, at present
Deepnaraya Singh Colony, Hathsarganj, P/S- Town, District- Vaishali
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State Of Bihar
2. Vinod Kumar S/o- Late Ram Swaroop Rai Village- Goraul Bhagwanpur Ps-
Goraul Dist- Vaishali
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Alok Kumar Alok, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ram Naresh Ray, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL ORDER
5 17-01-2026 Heard Mr. Alok Kumar Alok, learned counsel
appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Ram Naresh Ray,
learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail in connection
with complaint Case No. C-1-2990/19 registered for the
offence(s) punishable under Section 420, 465, 467 and 471 of
the Indian Penal Code.
3. As per the allegation made in the FIR, the
petitioner unlawfully grabbed the property of his cousin namely
Kiran Kumari, the sole heir of Late Umeshwar Prasad, after her
parents’ death and the complainant is the purchaser of the
aforesaid land from the said Kiran Kumari.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.49895 of 2025(5) dt.17-01-2026
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4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner submitted that petitioner is innocent and he has falsely
been implicated in the present case. A civil land dispute is
already pending in Partition Suit No. 62/2022 between the
parties, and that the complainant lacks locus standi, having filed
the case only to challenge mutation, however, considering the
fact that the matter is purely civil in nature, the petitioner, in
order to buy peace of mind and to get rid of the criminal
prosecution, is ready to settle the dispute amicably outside the
Court.
5. Learned APP for the State submitted that the matter
can be settled amicably outside the Court.
6. Heard the parties.
7. Considering the nature of allegation against the
petitioner, I find that the matter can be resolved amicably
outside the Court by way of mediation. Law also permits the
settlement or to avail civil remedy. The Apex Court in the case
of Paramjeet Batra v. State of Uttarakhand reported in (2013)
11 SCC 673, in which, the Apex Court in paragraph no. 12 has
held as follows:
"12. While exercising its jurisdiction under
Section 482 of the Code the High Court has to be
cautious. This power is to be used sparingly and only for
the purpose of preventing abuse of the process of any
court or otherwise to secure ends of justice. Whether a
complaint discloses a criminal offence or not depends
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.49895 of 2025(5) dt.17-01-2026
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upon the nature of facts alleged therein. Whether
essential ingredients of criminal offence are present or
not has to be judged by the High Court. A complaint
disclosing civil transactions may also have a criminal
texture. But the High Court must see whether a dispute
which is essentially of a civil nature is given a cloak of
criminal offence. In such a situation, if a civil remedy is
available and is, in fact, adopted as has happened in this
case, the High Court should not hesitate to quash the
criminal proceedings to prevent abuse of process of the
court."
8. The Apex Court has reiterated the aforesaid
preposition in recent judgment of S.N.Vijayalakshmi & Ors.
vrs. The State of Karnataka and Anr. reported in (2025) SCC
Online SC 1575.
9. The petitioner and o.p. no.2 are directed to appear
before the learned District Court on 17.02.2026 at 10.30am.
10. Learned District Court is directed to take
necessary steps to issue notices to the respective parties and
upon their appearance, refer the matter before the learned
Mediator of the District Mediation Center by fixing a date for
appearance of the parties.
11. Learned Mediator of the District Mediation Center
concerned shall make his/her best efforts to settle the dispute
amicably and thereafter submit his/her report before the
concerned learned District Court, well within a period of six
months. Till then, no coercive steps shall be taken against the
petitioner in connection with the aforesaid case.
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12. In case of failure on the part of the petitioner to
appear on 17.02.2026 before the learned District Court or any
date fixed by the learned Mediator, the interim protection
granted to the petitioner shall automatically lose its force.
13. In case, the parties fail to reconcile, then in that
case the parties may avail appropriate remedy.
14 Accordingly, the present bail application stands
disposed of.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
Ashishsingh/-
U T
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