Patna High Court
Sita DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- PURNENDU SINGH
Holding
The court granted provisional pre‑arrest bail, directing that the dispute be settled through mediation.
Summary
The petitioner, Sita Devi, applied for pre‑arrest bail in a complaint alleging cheating under Section 318(4) of the Bihar Negotiable Instruments Act for selling a piece of land that later turned out to belong to the Government of Bihar. The petitioner claimed innocence and argued that the dispute is essentially civil, seeking an amicable settlement. The State opposed the bail but did not contest the civil nature of the dispute. The High Court, after examining the FIR and the parties' submissions, held that the matter appears civil and therefore granted provisional pre‑arrest bail, directing the District Court to mediate the case under the Mediation Act, 2023 and to impose conditions under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. and Section 482(2) BNSS. The bail application was disposed of with the order to release the petitioner on bail and to pursue mediation.
Issues considered
- Whether pre‑arrest bail can be granted when the alleged offence is essentially a civil dispute.
- Whether the complaint under Section 318(4) BNS is suitable for settlement through mediation.
- Whether the conditions of Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. and Section 482(2) BNSS apply to grant bail in this case.
Legislation cited
Subjects
- pre‑arrest bail
- civil dispute
- mediation
- Section 318(4) BNS
- Section 438 Cr.P.C.
- Section 482 BNSS
- land sale fraud
- settlement
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.89775 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1168 Year-2024 Thana- ROHTAS COMPLAINT CASE
District- Rohtas
======================================================
Sita Devi W/o Sri Vinay Kumar Sah Resident of Mohalla- Kila, P.O. and P.S.-
Sasaram (T), District- Rohtas
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Saroj Kumar Vishwakarma S/o Gopal Vishwakarma Resident of Mohalla-
Mubarakganj, P.S.- Sasaram (T), District- Rohtas
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Karu Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Umeshanand Pandit, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL ORDER
4 20-04-2026 Heard Mr. Karu Kumar, learned counsel appearing
on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Umeshanand Pandit, learned
APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail in connection
with Complaint Case No. 1168/2024 registered for the
offence(s) punishable under Sections 318(4) of the BNS.
3. As per the allegations made in the FIR, the
petitioner is accused of cheating the complainant by selling him
a piece of land for a sum of Rs.4,69,000/-. Subsequently, when
the complainant applied online for mutation of the said land, his
application was rejected on the ground that the land belongs to
the Government of Bihar. When the complainant requested a
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.89775 of 2025(4) dt.20-04-2026
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refund of the amount paid, the petitioner failed to return the
same.
4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner submitted that petitioner is innocent and has falsely
been implicated in the present case. However, on instruction,
learned counsel submitted that the matter is purely civil in
nature and to buy peace of mind, petitioner wants to settle the
dispute amicably outside the Court.
5. Learned APP appearing on behalf of the State
submitted that a chance be given to the parties for amicable
settlement outside the court.
6. Having heard the rival submissions made on behalf
of the parties and upon perusal of the allegations made in the
FIR, and considering that the dispute appears to be civil in
nature, as well as, the fact that the petitioner is willing to
compromise in respect of the land allegedly sold vide Sale Deed
No. 3490 for a total consideration amount of ₹4,69,000/-, the
petitioner, named above, is directed to be released on
provisional pre-arrest bail. on such terms and conditions as the
learned District Court deems it fit and proper, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C / 482(2)
BNSS.
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7. However, the learned District Court is directed to
examine the matter for settlement of the dispute outside the
court by way of mediation in light of the law laid down by the
Apex Court in cases of Paramjeet Batra v. State of
Uttarakhand, (2013) 11 SCC 673, Usha Chakraborty v. State
of West Bengal, (2023) 15 SCC 135 and S.N. Vijayalakshmi &
Ors. Vrs. The State of Karnataka and Anr. reported in (2025)
SCC Online SC 1575 and 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
Centre under the provision of Mediation Act, 2023 by fixing a
date for appearance of the parties to give effect to “Mediation
for the Nation 2.0”.
8. The bail application stands disposed of.
9. Let a copy of this order be communicated to the
Member Secretary, Bihar State Legal Services Authority and the
Patna High Court Mediation Centre for the purpose of record.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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