Patna High Court
Ajay RamversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- PARTLY ALLOWED (DISPOSAL)
- Bench
- PURNENDU SINGH
Holding
Petitioner no.1 is entitled to anticipatory bail as the allegations are general and no specific material links him to the offence.
Summary
The petitioners, Ajay Ram and Akshay Ram, applied for pre‑arrest (anticipatory) bail in a case arising from a land‑dispute‑related FIR alleging multiple offences under the Bihar Penal Code. Akshay Ram withdrew his bail application and was directed to surrender before the District Court for regular bail. Ajay Ram argued that the FIR contains only general, omnibus allegations with no specific act attributed to him, that co‑accused have already been granted anticipatory bail, and that he has a clean antecedent. The Court found that no material had been collected to connect Ajay Ram with the offences and held that he prima facie merited anticipatory bail. Accordingly, the District Court was directed to release Ajay Ram on bail if arrested or surrendered within four weeks, subject to a bond, sureties and verification of his criminal antecedents under Section 482 of the CrPC. The petition was disposed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail despite the FIR alleging multiple offences.
- Whether the general and omnibus nature of the allegations suffices to deny bail.
- Whether Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code applies to grant anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- pre‑arrest bail
- Bihar Penal Code
- Criminal Procedure Code
- Section 482
- land dispute
- FIR
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6633 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-74 Year-2025 Thana- PHENHARA District- East Champaran
======================================================
1. Ajay Ram S/O Nageshwar Ram Resident of Village - Madhurapur, P.S.-
Fenhara, District - East Champaran.
2. Akshay Ram S/O Nageshwar Ram Resident of Village - Madhurapur, P.S.-
Fenhara, District - East Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Madhurendra Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Aditya Narayan Singh.1, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL ORDER
5 05-05-2026 Heard Mr. Madhurendra Kumar, learned counsel
appearing on behalf of the petitioners and Mr. Aditya Narayan
Singh.1, learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioners seek pre-arrest bail in connection
with Phenhara P.S. Case No. 74/2025 registered for the
offence(s) punishable under Sections 191(2), 191(3), 190,
329(4), 126(2), 115(2), 118(1), 118(2), 117(2), 109, 103, 303(2),
352, 351(2) of the BNS.
3. As per the allegation made in the FIR, the
informant, Neelam Devi, lodged a written complaint alleging
that the F.I.R.-named accused persons, including the petitioners,
formed an unlawful assembly and assaulted her husband and
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other family members with various weapons, resulting in
injuries, and it is further alleged that her modesty was outraged
and her belongings were snatched and her husband succumbed
to injuries during treatment.
4. At the outset, learned counsel appearing on behalf
of the petitioners seeks to withdraw the bail application of the
petitioner no.2 with a liberty to the petitioner to surrender before
the learned District Court and seek regular bail.
5. Considering the aforesaid submission made on
behalf of the petitioner no.2, the petitioner no.2, if so advised,
may surrender before the learned District Court and seek regular
bail. In that case, the learned District Court is directed to
consider the bail application of the petitioner no.2 on the same
day on the basis of material which has come in course of
investigation.
6. So far as, the petitioner no.1 is concerned, learned
counsel appearing on behalf of petitioner submitted that
submitted that the allegations in the F.I.R. are general and
omnibus in nature, with specific role attributed only to co-
accused Sanjay Ram, and no specific overt act is attributable to
the petitioner no.1. The occurrence was a case of free fight
between the parties, and subsequently, names of elderly and
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female members have been dragged with ulterior motive. No
material has been collected during investigation to connect the
petitioners with the alleged offence. Learned counsel further
submitted that similarly situated co-accused persons have
already been granted anticipatory bail by this Court. The
petitioner has clean antecedents. On these grounds, the
petitioner seeks to be released on pre-arrest bail.
7. Learned APP for the State vehemently opposed
the prayer for grant of pre-arrest bail.
8. Having heard the rival submissions made on behalf
of the parties, as well as, upon perusal of the record, it appears
that the dispute between the parties arises out of a land dispute
relating to ancestral property, and admittedly, a partition suit is
pending between them. The allegations in the F.I.R. against the
petitioner no.1 is general and omnibus in nature, with specific
and direct allegation of assault attributed to a co-accused. The
present is a case of free fight between the parties, and
subsequently, names of other family members, including elderly
and female members, have been implicated. It also transpires
that no specific material has been collected during investigation
to connect the petitioner no.1 with the alleged offence. Similarly
situated co-accused persons have already been granted
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anticipatory bail by this Court. I am of the opinion that the
petitioner no.1 has, prima facie, made out a case to be released
on pre-arrest bail.
9. The learned District Court is directed to release the
petitioner no.1 on anticipatory bail, in the event of his arrest or
surrender before the learned District Court within a period of
four weeks from today, on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/-
(Ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each, to the
satisfaction of learned District Court where the case is pending
in connection with Phenhara P.S. Case No. 74/2025, subject to
the condition as laid down under Section 482 of the
BNSS//438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
10. The learned District Court is directed to verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner no.1, as stated in
paragraph no. 3 of the bail application. If any other case is
pending against the petitioner, as what has been stated in
paragraph no. 3, this order will lose its force automatically.
11. The present petition stands disposed of.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
Ashishsingh/-
U T
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