Deepak Mandal vs The State Of Bihar
2021 Latest Caselaw 4832 Patna

           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                       CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No. 1954 of 2021
           Arising Out of PS. Case No.-110 Year-2020 Thana- TARAPUR District- Munger
      ======================================================

1. Deepak Mandal, Male, aged about 22 years, Son of Pawan Mandal.

2. Rohit Kumar @ Mukhiya Mandal, Male, aged about 20 years Son of Pawan Mandal.

3. Tulsi Mandal Male, aged about 32 years, Son of Mahadev Mandal.

4. Pawan Mandal, Male aged about 45 years, Son of Late Chakardhar Mandal.

5. Badri Kumar Mandal @ Badri Nath Mandal, Male, aged about 35 years, Son of Laxman Mandal.

6. Moti Mandal, Male, aged about 40 years, Son of Laxman Mandal.

7. Nitish Kumar @ Nitish Mandal, Male aged about 20 years, Son of Moti Mandal.

All residents of Village - Dadha Saraun (Kamargama), PS- Tarapur, District- Munger.

... ... Appellant/s Versus The State of Bihar

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Appellant/s : Mr. Vikram Deo Singh, Advocate For the State : Ms. Usha Kumari No. 1, Special PP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 04-10-2021

Heard Mr. Vikram Deo Singh, learned counsel for

the appellants and Ms. Usha Kumari No. 1, learned Special

Public Prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as 'Special PP') for

the State.

2. The instant appeal is directed against the order dated

21.08.2020, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-I, Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1954 of 2021 dt.04-10-2021

Munger in ABA No. 753 of 2020 by which the prayer for

anticipatory bail of the appellants stand rejected.

3. The appellants apprehend arrest in connection with

Tarapur PS Case No. 110 of 2020 dated 28.07.2020, instituted

under Sections 147, 148, 149, 341, 323, 504, 506 of the Indian

Penal Code, 1860 and 3(1)(r)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

(hereinafter referred to as the 'SC/ST Act').

4. As per the FIR, in a function due to music being

played on high volume by the appellants, when they were asked to

lower the volume, they are said to have abused the members of the

prosecution party using caste name and thereafter also there being

a free fight between the two sides resulting in injuries.

5. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the

dispute basically was between the two sides for the reason that the

prosecution side was objecting to the high volume of music being

played by the appellants' side and despite them being requested to

lower the volume, the same was not done. It was submitted that

the allegation is general and omnibus in nature though it has been

stated that the abuse had also been by using the caste word of the

informant's side. Learned counsel submitted that the object of the

SC/ST Act is to prevent any person not belonging to the SC/ST Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1954 of 2021 dt.04-10-2021

category from committing atrocities against members of the

SC/ST community only on the ground that they belonged to such

reserved category. It was submitted that if in a general course of

any dispute, some incident occurs, even if one of the parties

belonged to the SC/ST category, ipso facto, the same would not

lead to the matter coming under the preview of the SC/ST Act as

has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Khuman Singh v.

State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 2019 SC 4030, the relevant

being at paragraphs no. 3 and 11. It was submitted that there was

also a counter version of the occurrence as one of the accused

persons, namely Sintu Singh has lodged Tarapur PS Case No. 109

of 2020. It was submitted that similarly situated co-accused Sonu

Mandal @ Sonu Kumar; Chandan Mandal @ Chandan Kumar

Mandal and Jawahar Mandal, have been granted anticipatory bail

by a co-ordinate Bench by order dated 14.07.2021 passed in Cr.

Appeal (SJ) No. 1801 of 2021. Learned counsel submitted that the

appellants have no other criminal antecedent.

6. Learned Special PP submitted that the appellants are

alleged to have abused the informant's side by using their caste

name. However, it was not controverted that the occurrence took

place on the spur of the moment and the reason being that the Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1954 of 2021 dt.04-10-2021

accused are said to have been playing musing at the high volume

which was objected by the informant's side.

7. Having considered the facts and circumstances of the

case and submissions of learned counsel for the parties, in view of

the appellants being involved in an incident in which both the

sides committed overt act and the reason being that the playing of

music on high volume by the accused side was objected by

informant side which was the genesis and cause of action, which

does not indicate that the incident occurred only because of the

caste identity of the informant side and the fact that they have no

other criminal antecedent as also anticipatory bail having been

granted by a co-ordinate Bench to similarly situated co-accused,

the Court is inclined to allow the prayer for pre-arrest bail.

8. Accordingly, in the event of arrest or surrender before

the Court below within six weeks from today, the appellants be

released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 25,000/-

(twenty five thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount

each to the satisfaction of the learned Additional Sessions Judge

Ist, Munger in Tarapur PS Case No. 110 of 2020 subject to the

conditions laid down in Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 and further, (i) that one of the bailors shall be a

close relative of the appellants, (ii) that the appellants and the Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1954 of 2021 dt.04-10-2021

bailors shall execute bond and give undertaking with regard to

good behaviour of the appellants and (iii) that they shall co-

operate with the Court and police/prosecution. Any violation of

the terms and conditions of the bonds or the undertaking or failure

to co-operate shall lead to cancellation of their bail bonds.

9. It shall also be open for the prosecution to bring any

violation of the foregoing conditions by the appellants, to the

notice of the Court concerned, which shall take immediate action

on the same after giving opportunity of hearing to the appellants.

10. Accordingly, the order impugned is set aside and the

appeal stands allowed.

(Ahsanuddin Amanullah, J.)

P. Kumar

AFR/NAFR U T