Patna High Court
Dheeraj Kumar @ Dheeraj Kumar PaswanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL GRANTED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted bail to the petitioner, finding insufficient basis to treat the victim as a minor and accepting the petitioner's claim of false implication.
Summary
The petitioner, Dheeraj Kumar Paswan, was arrested in connection with an alleged kidnapping of a girl purportedly aged 13, under Sections 137(2), 96 and 61 of the B.N.S. The petitioner contended that the victim was actually 17‑19 years old, as determined by a medical board and the magistrate, and that the FIR falsely described her as a minor. He also claimed a clean antecedent and that the case was fabricated by the informant, noting that the victim’s statement under Section 183 B.N.S.S. supported the elopement rather than the prosecution. The petition originally sought anticipatory bail, but the court allowed amendment since the petitioner was already in custody. After considering the age evidence and lack of corroboration for the minor allegation, the court ordered the petitioner’s release on bail with a bond of Rs.10,000 and two sureties.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to bail despite allegations of kidnapping a minor
- Whether the victim’s age, as determined by medical board and magistrate, negates the minor status alleged in the FIR
- Whether anticipatory bail is appropriate when the petitioner is already in custody
Legislation cited
Subjects
- bail
- anticipatory bail
- kidnapping
- minor
- age dispute
- false implication
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.61439 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-364 Year-2024 Thana- PIPRA District- East Champaran
======================================================
Dheeraj Kumar @ Dheeraj Kumar Paswan S/o Sunil Paswan R/o Village-
Talwa, P.S.- Kotwa, District- East Champaran, Motihari
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Dinanath Yadav S/o Nageshwar Ray R/o Village- Balwa, P.S.- Pipra, Dist.-
East Champaran
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner : Mr. Sharda Nand Mishra, Advocate
Mr. Deepak Kumar, Advocate
Mr. Bishnu Nath Mahto, Advocate
Mr. Dhandev Kumar, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Ahmad Ali, APP
For O.P. No.2 : Mr. Santosh Kumar, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 05-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned APP
for the State as well as learned counsel appearing on behalf of
the informant.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner, at the outset,
submits that inadvertently at para-1, it has been pleaded to grant
anticipatory bail to the petitioner when petitioner is in custody,
as such, seeks permission to rectify the pleading made at para-1
and 2 of the bail application in course of the day.
3. Permission is accorded.
4. The petitioner seeks bail in a case registered for the
offences punishable under Sections 137(2), 96 and 61 of B.N.S.,
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.61439 of 2025(3) dt.05-02-2026
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2023.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and the informant
alleges that on 07.12.2024, the petitioner along with other
accused persons kidnapped his minor daughter, aged about 13
years.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has been falsely implicated in the instant case by the
informant. It is next submitted that victim and the petitioner
were in love and they eloped. It is also submitted that victim has
come back and a Medical Board was constituted to assess her
age and the Medical Board found the victim in between 18-19
years. It is also submitted that even the learned Magistrate
assessed the victim to be 17 years of age but then in order to
give seriousness to the case, the informant, in the FIR, falsely
alleged that victim is a minor, aged about 13 years, without
bringing on record any legal document to substantiate his case.
It is also submitted that statement of victim was recorded under
Section 183 B.N.S.S. wherein she has not supported the case of
the prosecution rather has stated that she eloped with the
petitioner with whom she was in love.
7. Learned APP and the learned counsel appearing on
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.61439 of 2025(3) dt.05-02-2026
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behalf of the informant oppose the bail application but then are
not in a position to rebut the submission of the learned counsel
appearing on behalf of the petitioner that Medical Board
assessed her in between 18-19 years and the learned Magistrate
assessed the age of the victim as 17 years and the victim in her
statement recorded under Section 183 B.N.S.S. has not
supported the case of the prosecution.
8. Considering the submissions made by learned
counsel for the petitioner, let petitioner, above-named, be
released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs.10,000/- (Rs. Ten
Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of learned S.D.J.M., Sadar, East Champaran,
Motihari in connection with Pipra P.S. Case No.364 of 2024.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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