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Patna High Court
Manish Paswan vs The State Of Bihar on 24 April, 2025
Author: Rajeev Ranjan Prasad
Bench: Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, Ashok Kumar Pandey
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No.949 of 2022
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-85 Year-2020 Thana- BARHAT District- Jamui
======================================================
Manish Paswan Son Of Pyare Paswan Resident Of Village - Kajiyajor, P.S.-
Barhat, District - Jamui, Bihar .... ... Appellant
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. XXX C/O Santosh Tuddu R/O Vill- Badrot, P.S- Laxmipur, Distt.- Jamui.
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Appellant : Mr. Arbind Kumar, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Dilip Kumar Sinha, Addl.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY
ORAL JUDGMENT
(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD)
Date : 24-04-2025
Heard learned counsel for the appellant and learned
Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
2. We had issued notice to the informant/victim which
has been validly served upon her and she has entered appearance
through her advocate but no one has appeared on her behalf to
oppose the present appeal.
3. This appeal has been preferred for setting aside the
judgment of conviction dated 04.11.2022 (hereinafter referred to as
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'the impugned judgment') and the order of sentence dated
07.11.2022
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the impugned order’)
passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge -cum- Special
Judge (POCSO Act), Jamui (hereinafter called ‘the learned trial
court’) in POCSO Case No. 37 of 2020 (arising out of Barhat
P.S. Case No. 85/2020).
4. By the impugned judgment, the learned trial court
has been pleased to hold the appellant guilty of the charges
under Section 4(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (in short ‘POCSO’) Act and Section 376 of the Indian
Penal Code (for short ‘the IPC‘). The trial court held that no
cogent evidence has come against the accused for the offence
punishable under Section 8 of the POCSO Act. Hence, he has
been acquitted for the said charge. The appellant has then
ordered to undergo a sentence of 20 years rigorous
imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- for the offence
punishable under Section 4(2) of the POCSO Act. In default of
payment of fine, the convict-appellant shall further undergo
simple imprisonment of 4 months. The fine, so realised, shall
be given to the victim under Section 357 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. Section 42 of the POCSO Act has been
invoked and the learned trial court has said that no sentence is
awarded to the convict for the offence punishable under
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Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code as the sentence
prescribed under Section 4(2) of the POCSO Act is greater in
degree.
Prosecution Case
5. The prosecution is based on a written application
dated 29.06.2020 submitted by the prosecutrix to the officer in-
charge of Barhat police station in the district of Jamui. In the
said written application, the prosecutrix has alleged that she
being resident of village Badrot, P.S.-Laxmipur, District- Jamui
had visited the village of her ‘mousi’ in Kajiyajor, P.S.- Barhat,
District- Jamui on 27.06.2020. On the same day, in the
evening at about 3:00 ‘O’ clock, she had gone to defecate
outside the house of her ‘mousi’, near the bank of a river
where this appellant came by applying force, he committed
rape on her and then left her in her conditions. The prosecutrix
further alleged that somehow she reached the house of her
‘mousi’ and told about the occurrence to all. On the basis of the
written application dated 29.06.2020, a First Information
Report giving rise to Barhat P.S. Case No. 85/2020 was
registered under Section 376 of ‘IPC‘ and Section 4 and 8 of
the POCSO Act. A formal FIR has been drawn on 29.06.2020
at 16:50 hours.
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6. Upon completion of investigation, police
submitted a charge sheet against the accused-appellant on
26.08.2020, on which cognizance was taken by the Court on
21.09.2020. Thereafter, police papers were supplied to the
accused.
7. The charges were explained to the accused-
appellant which he denied and claimed to be tried whereafter
charges were framed against the appellant for the offence under
Section 376 of ‘IPC‘ and also under Section 4 and 8 of the
POCSO Act vide order dated 06.02.2021.
8. To prove the charges against the appellant, the
prosecution examined as many as 9 witnesses and got
exhibited some documentary evidences. The list of witnesses
and the list of documents which have been marked exhibits on
behalf of the prosecution are as under:-
List of Prosecution Witnesses
P.W.-1 Mahendra Manjhi
P.W.-2 Sita Devi
P.W.-3 Babli Devi
P.W.-4 Panchnand Manjhi
P.W.-5 Father of the Victim
P.W.-6 X (victim)
P.W.-7 Mother of the Victim
P.W.-8 Dr. Kabita Singh
P.W.-9 Gyan Bharti (I.O.)
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Ext.-P1 Signature of the victim on the
written statement
Ext.-P2 Signature of the victim on her
statement under Section 164
Cr.P.C.
Ext.-P3 Medical Report bearing signature
of Dr. Kabita Singh
Ext.-P4 Handwriting and signature of S.I.
Gyan Bharti (I.O.) on the
chargesheetFindings of the Learned Trial Court
9. The learned trial court analysed the evidence of
the prosecution witnesses and took a view that the prosecution
in this case has successfully proved the charges. The learned
trial court has rejected the contention of the defence that there
is a delay in lodging of the F.I.R. saying that in the present
case, the parents of the victim were in some other village and
the offence was committed in the village of her ‘aunt’ and
then when the parents of the victim reached there on the next
day, they reported the matter to the police. The trial court,
therefore, took a view that the delay in registration of the FIR
has been properly explained by the prosecution.
10. As regards the age of the victim and the
question raised in this regard by the defence, the learned trial
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court has relied upon the statement of the victim (PW.-6) who
deposed that her date of birth is 08.07.2007.
11. The learned trial court has taken a view that the
evidence of the victim would not require any corroboration in
material particular and if the evidence of the
victim/prosecutrix inspired confidence of the court, a
conviction may be recorded on the basis of the sole testimony
of the victim/prosecutrix.
Submissions on behalf of the Appellant
12. Learned counsel for the appellant has
vehemently submitted that the learned trial court has failed to
appreciate the materials available on the record of the trial
court. It is submitted that on the point of age of the victim girl
when the defence was examining the victim (PW.-6), she was
asked to disclose the age of her two sisters, who were married
but the victim did not disclose the age of her sisters and
clearly said that she cannot say the age of any of her sisters.
She further made a false statement in her deposition in
paragraph- ’23’ that she had provided the T.C. (Transfer
Certificate) of the concerned school relating to her date of
birth to police but she did not remember the date. Contrary to
her claim, the Investigating Officer (PW.-9) has stated in his
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evidence that he had not received any certificate of any school
with regard to the age of the victim. He has stated to have
recorded in paragraph- ’44’ of the case diary that he had
requested the parents of the informant to provide the date of
birth certificate of Utkramit Badrot School but no certificate
was provided by the informant and her parents. The
Investigating Officer had not gone to the said school to gather
information with regard to the age of the victim. It is
submitted that PW.-6 has, therefore, made a false statement
that the age related certificate was made available to police.
13. Learned counsel for the appellant further
submits that as per the written application of the prosecutrix,
the occurrence took place on 27.06.2020 i.e. the same day on
which she reached the house of her ‘mousi’ in village
Kajiyajor. She has stated that in the same evening at about 3
‘O’ clock, which is in fact an afternoon period and not
evening, she had gone towards the bank of the river and
evidence has come that it is at a distance of at least half
kilometer from the house of her ‘mousi’. It is this place where
the appellant is said to have arrived and forcibly committed
rape on her. She has stated that she tried to raise her voice,
shouted but no one came to save her and after the occurrence,
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she somehow reached the house of her ‘mousi’ but again the
falsity of her statement may be gathered from her statement
recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. before the learned Judicial
Magistrate wherein she has stated that after the occurrence,
her cousin brother arrived and he took her to the house of the
‘mousi’. Who is this cousin brother, how he arrived at the
place of occurrence and took her to the house of her ‘mousi’
remained a mystery. No cousin brother of the informant has
been examined in this case to instill confidence of this court in
the story. This is a material deviation with regard to the
circumstances which immediately happened after the
occurrence.
14. Learned counsel for the appellant further
submits that there is a delay of two days in lodging of the
F.I.R. which is important to take note of, particularly, when
the victim of this case is not a sterling witness. She has stated
in her deposition that she had reported the occurrence to her
‘mousi’ on the same day. In her written application also, she
has stated that she had returned home and there she had told
about the occurrence to all. Despite this, the occurrence was
not reported to the police station which is situated at a
distance of only four kilometers from the village Kajiyajor. It
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is further submitted that the father of the victim has deposed
that his statement was not recorded by the police. He has,
however, stated in his deposition that the occurrence had taken
place in another village (paragraph- ‘8’ of the deposition of
PW.-5). He got information of the occurrence on the mobile
phone from his wife but he cannot say the mobile number of
his wife. He has stated that he returned home on the next day
and then he went to the police station on third day. PW.-5 has
stated that he has got four daughters and the second daughter
is married in village Kaduatari with one Dilip Murmu. Lalo
Murmu is the brother of Dilip Murmu. Kaduatari village is
situated at a distance of 4-5 kilometers from his village. The
victim was going to the house of her sister intermittently and
his son-in-law, Dilip Murmu, his brother Lalo Murmu used to
visit his house. PW.- 5 was suggested by defence that his
daughter was seen in objectionable position with Lalo Murmu
which was seen by the accused and he made it known to
others, for this reason, he has been falsely implicated in this
case. PW.-5 has stated that with regard to the occurrence
whatever talk he had, was with his wife.
15. It is further submitted that from the evidence of
the mother of the victim (PW.-7), it would appear that she was
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in her village on 27.06.2020. The occurrence had taken place
with her daughter at the bank of the river where she had gone
to defecate. She has stated that her daughter had disclosed
about the occurrence to the sister of this witness and her sister
had given a telephone call to her. Her husband was not present
in the house and when her husband came then she disclosed it
to him and thereafter, they went to village Kajiyajor. It is
submitted that it is evident that the victim did not talk to her
mother over telephone to narrate the occurrence. This cannot
be a natural conduct. It is further submitted that if the
information with regard to the occurrence was available with
the sister of the informant but it was not reported to police and
even on the second day i.e. 28.06.2020, the occurrence was
not brought to the notice of the nearest police station but
written application was submitted only on 29.06.2020, the
prosecution cannot be said to have explained the delay and
this would prove fatal to the prosecution.
16. Learned counsel for the appellant further
submits that the conduct of the prosecutrix (PW.-6) may be
noticed from the evidence of the I.O (PW.-9). PW.-9 has
stated that in paragraph- ’24’ of the case diary, the statement
of witness Ashok Kumar has been recorded, he had disclosed
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that the informant had gone towards the river in village
Kariyajor with Lalo Murmu who is brother of her ‘bahnoi’,
Dilip Murmu. I.O. has further stated that in paragraph- ’22’ of
the case diary, he has recorded about his effort to search out
Lalo Murmu but he had not taken second attempt to search
him. I.O. (P.W.-6) has further deposed that in paragraph- ’27’
of the case diary, it has come that the informant had gone with
Lalo Murmu towards the Kariyajor river. It is pointed out that
the I.O. has categorically stated that the victim/prosecutrix
was asked to provide her clothes which she was wearing on
the date of occurrence but she did not provide the clothes.
(paragraph- ’13’ of PW.-9) .
17. It is further submitted that the doctor (PW.-8),
who examined the prosecutrix on 29.06.2020 has stated in her
deposition that the victim had changed her clothes and taken
bath after the incident, no mark of injury, nor any sign of
resistance was found on the victim’s lips, cheeks, mammae,
genitalia or any other body parts. The hymen was ruptured
and the vaginal swab smear examination suggested absence of
spermatozoa or RBCs. In her conclusion, PW.-8 has recorded
that victim might have undergone sexual intercourse but she
was not sure about it.
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18. In her cross-examination, she has stated that she
did not find any mark of injury on any part of the body of the
victim and from examination of victim she was not sure
whether victim had undergone on sexual intercourse or not.
The report of PW.-8 has been exhibited as Ext.-P3.
19. Learned counsel for the appellant further
submits that the trial Court has not even determined the age of
the victim despite questioned by the defence and then that the
victim/prosecutrix is not a sterling witness in this case has
missed the attention of the learned trial court. It is also pointed
out that the ‘mousi’ of the victim who has been examined as
PW.-2 has become hostile. Pws. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this case have
been declared hostile and in their examination in-chief they
have stated that this appellant has been falsely implicated. It is
also pointed out that in his statement under Section 313
Cr.P.C. the appellant has categorically stated that he had seen
the prosecutrix and she was having an affair with the brother
of her brother-in-law (bahnoi) which he had disclosed to her
‘mousi’ whereafter he has been falsely implicated in this case.
Submissions on behalf of State
20. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the
State has, though, initially opposed the appeal but in course of
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argument, learned Additional Public Prosecutor admits that
the defence had raised issues relating to age of the victim and
in this regard, the defence had put questions to the victim as
well as to her mother. Her mother (PW.-7) was specifically
suggested that her daughter was major at the time of
occurrence and she had been falsely deposing in this case.
21. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor further
submits that learned trial court seems to have gone by the
principle that the victim of the crime cannot depose falsely
and for that reason, the trial court has relied upon the
observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of
State of Punjab vs. Gurmit Singh and others reported in
1996 (2) SCC 384.
Consideration
22. We have heard learned counsel for the appellant
and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State as also
perused the trial court records.
23. On going through the materials available on the
record, we find that in this case, PW-1 to PW-4 all have turned
hostile. The ‘mousi’ of the victim girl has been examined as
PW.-2 and even she has made statement in her examination-
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in-chief that this appellant had not committed the occurrence
and she had given this statement to ‘Darogaji’.
24. The whole prosecution case rests upon the
statement of the victim (PW.-6). The victim was cross-
examined in respect of her date of birth, on which she has
stated that she had handed over the school T.C. ( Transfer
Certificate) related to her date of birth to the police but the
I.O. PW.-9 has stated that despite asking for the certificate
relating to the age of the school, neither the informant nor her
parents provided the same. This Court therefore finds that
before the learned trial Court there was no educational
certificate of the school for determination of the age of the
prosecutrix. The medical evidence was required to be obtained
with regard to the age of the victim but that was not done. The
Doctor ( PW.-8) who prepared Ext.-P/3 had not examined the
prosecutrix with respect to her age, therefore, no opinion with
regard to age of the victim has been recorded by her.
25. Section 34 of the POCSO Act provides for the
determination of age in accordance with the Section 94 of the
Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act, 2015.
According to sub-section 2 of Section 34 if any question
arises in any proceeding before the Special Court whether a
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person is a child or not, such question shall be determined by
the Special Court after satisfying itself about the age of such
person and it shall record in writing its reason for such
determination.
26. This Court finds that both PW.-6 as well as her
mother (PW.-7) have been making misleading statements in
course of their cross-examination that they had provided the
age related certificate to the I.O. The I.O. has contradicted the
statements of the PW.-6 and PW.-7. We therefore find that the
trial court has missed out on a very important aspect of the
matter before concluding the trial and convicting the appellant
for the offence under the POCSO Act.
27. This Court has further noticed material
discrepancy in the evidence of the prosecutrix. Initially, she
stated that after the occurrence of rape, she somehow reached
her ‘mousi’s’ place and told the occurrence to all but in her
164 Cr.P.C. statement, she has stated that after the occurrence,
her cousin brother came there and he brought her to the house
of her ‘mousi’. In course of investigation, the said so called
cousin brother of the informant has not appeared and there is
no examination of the said cousin brother in course of trial.
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This creates huge doubt over the veracity of the statement of
PW.-1.
28. This court further finds that the another conduct
of PW.-6 would raise huge doubt over her story of rape. The
I.O. PW.-9 has stated that he had asked for the clothes of the
victim which she was wearing at the time of occurrence but
the victim did not provide the same. This would go against the
prosecution case. The doctor has found that the victim had
taken bath, and then in her medical examination the doctor did
not find any sign of resistance either on her lips, cheeks,
mammae, genitalia or any other body parts. In fact, the
medical report (Ext.-P/3) completely rules out the prosecution
story based on solitary statement of PW.-1 that she was
subjected to rape. Ext.-P/3 is being extracted hereunder for a
ready reference.
“Examined Usha Kumari, D/o Mr. Santosh
Tuddu, resident of village Badrot, dist-
Laxmipur at 8:16 p.m. on 29/06/2020 vide
emergency no – 5754 & emergency registration
no- 63920 E016001 by order of Deputy
Superintendent of Sadar Hospital, Jamui in
presence of A grade staff Sunita Kumari.
Written consent for medical examination was
taken from victim before examining her. She
was brought to me by lady constable Punam Kr
no. 261 of 15 Mahila P.S. Jamui.
DETAILS OF PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
OF VICTIM:-
Marks of identification :- (1) A mole above
upper lip (2) A mole about 1 cm below left eye.
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– victim does not remember date of her last
menstrual period.
– Victim has changed clothes & taken bath after
the incident.
Axillary and pubic hair were sparse, breasts
were develop.
– No marks of injury, nor any signs of resistance
were found on victim’s lips, cheeks, mammae,
genitalia or any other body parts.
– Per abdominal examination-Abdomen was
soft, bowel sound was present.
– Per vaginal examination- Vagina admitted 2
fingers tight.
. Hymen old ruptured.
. Mild whitish discharge P/V was
present.
LABORATORY FINDINGS :-
(1.) Urine test for pregnancy was negative.
(2.) Vaginal swab smear examination done by
Dr. S.N. Ahmad Sir, suggested absence of
spermatozoa or RBCs, though few epithelial
cells were present.
(3.) Ultrasonography of whole abdomen and
pelvis suggested normal study.
– All reports are attached.
– CONCLUSION :- Victim might have
undergone sexual intercourse but I’ m not sure
about it.”
[The identity of the victim has
been masked by this Court.]
29. We have further noticed from the evidence of
the I.O. that at one stage, Lalo Murmu was also under
investigation and police had gone in search of him but
thereafter police did not take further attempt to find him and
submitted the charge sheet both under Section 4 and Section 8
of the POCSO Act. I.O has stated that he submitted charge
sheet under both the sections of the POCSO Act because
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during investigation, he could not make it clear, therefore, the
charge sheet was filed under both the provisions. We take note
of it only because we are of the opinion that while submitting
a charge sheet under the provisions of the POCSO Act, no
casual approach on the part of the I.O. may be expected
because the consequences of prosecution of a person under
POCSO Act are serious on his life and liberty.
30. In the kind of materials which we have
discussed hereinabove, the delay in lodging of the FIR gains
importance. While it is true that mere ground of delay in
lodging of the FIR would not result in throwing away the
whole prosecution case, the fact remains that in the kind of
quality of evidence coming in this case, the delay in lodging
of the FIR would further lead to a conclusion that the
prosecution case is not trustworthy. In this regard, this court
would rely upon the observations of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court in the case of in the case of Meharaj Singh (L/Nk.)
versus State of U.P. reported in (1994) 5 SCC 188 has held in
paragraph ’12’ as under:-
“12. FIR in a criminal case and particularly in a
murder case is a vital and valuable piece of
evidence for the purpose of appreciating the
evidence led at the trial. The object of insisting
upon prompt lodging of the FIR is to obtain the
earliest information regarding the circumstance
in which the crime was committed, including the
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by them, the weapons, if any, used, as also the
names of the eyewitnesses, if any. Delay in
lodging the FIR often results in embellishment,
which is a creature of an afterthought. On
account of delay, the FIR not only gets bereft of
the advantage of spontaneity, danger also creeps
in of the introduction of a coloured version or
exaggerated story. With a view to determine
whether the FIR was lodged at the time it is
alleged to have been recorded, the courts
generally look for certain external checks. One of
the checks is the receipt of the copy of the FIR,
called a special report in a murder case, by the
local Magistrate. If this report is received by the
Magistrate late it can give rise to an inference
that the FIR was not lodged at the time it is
alleged to have been recorded, unless, of course
the prosecution can offer a satisfactory
explanation for the delay in dispatching or
receipt of the copy of the FIR by the local
Magistrate. Prosecution has led no evidence at all
in this behalf. The second external check equally
important is the sending of the copy of the FIR
along with the dead body and its reference in the
inquest report. Even though the inquest report,
prepared under Section 174 CrPC, is aimed at
serving a statutory function, to lend credence to
the prosecution case, the details of the FIR and
the gist of statements recorded during inquest
proceedings get reflected in the report. The
absence of those details is indicative of the fact
that the prosecution story was still in an embryo
state and had not been given any shape and that
the FIR came to be recorded later on after due
deliberations and consultations and was then
ante-timed to give it the colour of a promptly
lodged FIR. In our opinion, on account of the
infirmities as noticed above, the FIR has lost its
value and authenticity and it appears to us that
the same has been ante-timed and had not been
recorded till the inquest proceedings were over at
the spot by PW-8.
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31. We would also record that PW.-6 in this case is
not a sterling witness and it would not be safe to sustain the
conviction of the appellant on the sole testimony of PW.-6.
Who will be called a sterling witness has been lucidly
discussed by the Hon’ble Supreme court in the case of Rai
Sandeep @ Deepu versus State (NCT of Delhi) reported in
(2012) 8 SCC 21, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has considered
as to who may be called “sterling witness”. Paragraph ’22’ of
the judgment in the case of Rai Sandeep (supra) is as under:-
“22 In our considered opinion, the “sterling
witness” should be of a very high quality and
calibre whose version should, therefore, be
unassailable. The court considering the version of
such witness should be in a position to accept it for
its face value without any hesitation. To test the
quality of such a witness, the status of the witness
would be immaterial and what would be relevant is
the truthfulness of the statement made by such a
witness. What would be more relevant would be the
consistency of the statement right from the starting
point till the end, namely, at the time when the
witness makes the initial statement and ultimately
before the court. It should be natural and consistent
with the case of the prosecution qua the accused.
There should not be any prevarication in the version
of such a witness. The witness should be in a
position to withstand the cross-examination of any
length and howsoever strenuous it may be and
under no circumstance should give room for any
doubt as to the factum of the occurrence, the
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a version should have co-relation with each and
every one of other supporting material such as the
recoveries made, the weapons used, the manner of
offence committed, the scientific evidence and the
expert opinion. The said version should consistently
match with the version of every other witness. It can
even be stated that it should be akin to the test
applied in the case of circumstantial evidence where
there should not be any missing link in the chain of
circumstances to hold the accused guilty of the
offence alleged against him. Only if the version of
such a witness qualifies the above test as well as all
other such similar tests to be applied, can it be held
that such a witness can be called as a “sterling
witness” whose version can be accepted by the
court without any corroboration and based on which
the guilty can be punished. To be more precise, the
version of the said witness on the core spectrum of
the crime should remain intact while all other
attendant materials, namely, oral, documentary and
material objects should match the said version in
material particulars in order to enable the court
trying the offence to rely on the core version to
sieve the other supporting materials for holding the
offender guilty of the charge alleged.”
32. In the light of the aforesaid discussions, we are
of the considered opinion that in this case, the learned trial
Court has not applied the first principle of law enunciated by
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in various cases in the facts of the
present case. The facts of the case would determine as to
which judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is to be cited.
Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.949 of 2022 dt.24-04-2025
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Reliance placed by the learned trial court on the judgment of
Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gurmit Singh (supra) to take a
general view that the prosecutrix cannot come forward to
make a humiliating statement but the learned trial Court
missed out the important part of the judgment where their
Lordships observed “… unless the discrepancies are such
which are of fatal nature…”. This judgment in Gurmit Singh
(supra) and the judgment in case of Rai Sandeep (supra) in
which who will be a sterling witness are required to be read
together for taking a correct view. Unfortunately, the trial
court has convicted the appellant in this case without there
being any cogent evidence.
33. This Court, therefore, sets aside the judgment of
conviction and order of the sentence of the learned trial court
and acquits the appellant on finding that it is a case of no
evidence. This has to be taken as a clean acquittal of the
appellant.
34. We are conscious that the appellant has been
acquitted as there is no evidence on the record to take a view
for his conviction, he has remained in jail for several years,
therefore, it will be open for the appellant to seek his remedy,
Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.949 of 2022 dt.24-04-2025
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if any, available to him with regard to malicious prosecution
in accordance with law.
35. This appeal is allowed.
36. The appellant is said to be in custody. He shall
be released forthwith if not wanted in any other case.
37. Let the trial court records with the copy of this
judgment be sent down to the trial court.
38. This Court has been informed that the release
order which has been issued by this Court immediately after
the delivery of judgment in the Court is sent through
registered post/speed post which takes some time and because
of this procedure to communicate the judgment of this Court
to the trial court and the Superintendent of concerned jail, an
acquitted person remains in jail for next few days. In the
opinion of this Court, the release order(s) is/are required to be
communicated through FAX/E-mail to the learned trial court
as well as the concerned Jail Superintendent, else the release
order should be communicated through a Special Messenger
at the cost of the High Court. This would only be in
consonance with the fundamental right of the accused to get
released immediately after he is found not guilty. Accordingly,
this Court directs that in this case, the release order shall be
Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.949 of 2022 dt.24-04-2025
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sent through FAX/E-mail or the Special Messenger at the cost
of the High Court.
(Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, J)
(Ashok Kumar Pandey, J)
Jagdish/-
Shubham/-
AFR/NAFR CAV DATE Uploading Date 30.04.2025 Transmission Date 30.04.2025
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