Bench allowed criminal appeal setting aside bail cancellation. Court found no factual suppression of criminal antecedents despite appellant's involvement in five total cases. Bail restored on original terms.
Criminal appeal allowed. Bail cancellation order quashed. Previous bail order restored with same conditions.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No.856 of 2023
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-68 Year-2021 Thana- SC/ST District- Darbhanga
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Rehana Khatoon, Wife of Md. Ramjan @ Ramjan Ali, R/v- Dighiyara, P.S.Keoti, District- Darbhanga
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
... ... Respondent/s
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Appearance :
For the Appellant/s : Mr. Nilendu Kumar Choudhary, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Binay Krishna, Spl. P.P. For the Respondent No.2: Mr. Ravi Nandan, Advocate ======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR ORAL ORDER
2 15-03-2023 Learned counsel for the appellant is permitted to remove the defect(s), as pointed out by the office, within a period of four weeks from today.
Heard Mr. Nilendu Kumar Choudhary, learned counsel for the appellant, Mr. Ravi Nandan, learned counsel for the respondent no.2 and learned Spl. PP for the State.
It is very unfortunate that despite the bail being granted by this Court on 08.09.2022 in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 887 of 2022 after taking note of the fact that the appellant is found involved in five other criminal cases, the appellant has been unnecessarily compelled to approach before this Court by filing a fresh Cr. Appeal (SJ) before this Court, as she was taken into
Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.856 of 2023(2) dt.15-03-2023 2/3
custody after cancelling her bail bonds on being found suppression of fact regarding criminal antecedent.
On the last occasion, the appellant was allowed bail vide order dated 08.09.2022 with certain conditions, inter alia, that the court below shall verify the criminal antecedent of the appellant and in case, at any stage, it is found that the appellant has concealed her criminal antecedent, the court below shall take immediate step for cancelling the bail bond of the appellant. However, the acceptance of bail bonds, in terms of the above-mentioned order, shall not be delayed for this purpose or in the name of verification.
From perusal of the order passed by the jurisdictional Court dated 16.11.2022, it appears that while cancelling the bail bonds of the appellant, the learned court has not taken note of all the facts and the order passed by this Court in its right perspective, wherein paragraph no.2, at page no.3, this Court has taken note of the submission of the learned counsel for the informant/respondent no.2 that appellant is found involved in five other criminal cases.
Learned counsel for the appellant submits that on the previous occasion, it had been been fairly submitted that at the time of filing the memo of appeal it was stated in para. 3 thereof
Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.856 of 2023(2) dt.15-03-2023 3/3
that the appellant is found involved in three criminal cases, besides the present one, however, having came to know with regard to involvement of two other criminal cases, a supplementary affidavit was filed stating therein that the appellant has found involved in two other criminal cases.
This Court finds that there is no suppression of the fact with regard to criminal antecedent of the appellant and, accordingly, this Court left with no option but to set aside the order dated 16.11.2022 passed by the learned 3rd Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge SC/ST (POA) Act, Darbhanga in connection with SC/ST P.S. Case No. 68 of 2021 on the same terms and conditions, as was imposed earlier by this Court in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 887 of 2022.
Accordingly, the present criminal appeal stands
allowed.
(Harish Kumar, J)
uday/-
U T
2 issues framed by the court
Whether cancellation of bail due to alleged suppression of criminal antecedents was justified given prior disclosure of new cases.
Whether the lower court erred in cancelling bail without verifying the earlier High Court order regarding antecedents.
Rehana Khatoon
The State of Bihar
Ram Sagar Paswan
Harish Kumar
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
