IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No.4677 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-12 Year-2024 Thana- SIRISIYA District- West Champaran ====================================================== 1. Sikandar Mahto Son of Satyanarayan Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 2. Satyanarayan Mahto Son of Late Vishnu Mahto @ Bigun Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 3. Nayanmati Devi W/o- Sikandar Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 4. Shobha Devi W/o- Mukesh Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 5. Kiran Devi @ Kiran Kumari W/o- Shambhu Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 6. Brijesh Kumar @ Brijesh Mahto @ Brijesh Mandal S/o- Daroga Mahto @ Daroga Mandal Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 7. Rajesh Mahto Son of Daroga Mahto @ Daroga Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 8. Khusbu Devi W/o- Rajesh Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 9. Anil Mahto @ Anil Kumar Son of Mohan Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran 10. Akhilesh Kr. Mahto @ Akhilesh Mahto @ Akhilesh Mahto S/o- Adalat Mahto @ Daroga Mahto Village- Kauwaha Laxmipur, Police station-Sirisiya District- West Champaran, P/A- Dukhi Chhapar Ps- Gopalpur Dist- West Champaran ... ... Appellant/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar 2. Manju Devi W/o- Raju Ram Village- Laxmipur Kauwaha, Police station- Sirisiya District- West Champaran ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant/s : Mr. Brij Kishor Mishra, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Sadanand Paswan, Spl.P.P. For the Informant : Mr. Ram Kishun Prasad, Advocate Ms. Sushma Saran, Advocate Mr. Ram Kishun Prasad, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRAVEEN KUMAR ORAL ORDER 4 12-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the appellants, learned Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4677 of 2024(4) dt.12-02-2026 2/5 counsel for the informant and learned Special Public Prosecutor appearing for the State. 2. This appeal under Section 14A(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been directed against the order dated 02.09.2024 passed by learned Additional District & Sessions Judge-1st-cum-Special Judge (SC/ST), Bettiah, West Champaran, in connection with Sirisiya P.S. Case No. 12 of 2024 registered under Sections 341, 323, 448, 324, 325, 307, 354B, 379, 504 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code read with Sections 3(1)(r)(s)(w) and 3(2)(va) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, whereby the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail of the appellants has been rejected. 3. As per the prosecution case, the informant alleged that she had purchased a land from one Shiv Dayal Mahto. She came to know that the co-accused persons, Ramu Mahto and Dhamu Mahto were constructing a hut on her land then she went there and asked why they have constructed a hut, thereafter, all the accused persons had gone from there. On 17.03.2024 at about 08:30 AM, when the informant’s family went to the appellant’s house then all the accused persons Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4677 of 2024(4) dt.12-02-2026 3/5 abused the informant, when she opposed, the appellant Nos. 5 and 10 (Kiran Devi and Akhilesh Mahto) caught her and co- accused persons Ramu Mahto and Dhamu Mahto assaulted on her head by means of farsa with an intention to kill due to which she sustained injury, thereafter, the appellant Nos. 6 and 7 (Brijesh Mahto and Rajesh Mahto) disrobed and outraged her modesty. On hulla, her father-in-law came to save her, then co- accused, Ramu Mahto attacked with bhala in his stomach due to which he sustained injury and fell unconscious on the ground then the appellant Nos. 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 (Shobha Devi, Kiran Devi, Khushbu Devi, Anil Mahto and Akhilesh Mahto) assaulted him with lathi, danda and iron rod due to which he got injured, when her cousin father-in-law came to save her, the co- accused, Dharmendra Mahto and appellant Nos. 1, 2 and 9 (Sikandar Mahto, Satyanarayan Mahto and Anil Mahto) assaulted on his hand with lathi and iron rod due to which his finger got fractured, thereafter all the accused persons assaulted him due to which he sustained injury. The appellant Nos. 5 and 8 (Kiran Devi and Kushbu Devi) snatched mangalsutra from her neck. On hulla, the villagers gathered, then all the accused persons fled away. Thereafter, the injured were taken to hospital for treatment. Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4677 of 2024(4) dt.12-02-2026 4/5 4. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that the appellants, who are of clean antecedent, are innocent and have not committed any offence. He further submits that it appears from the F.I.R. itself that there is general and omnibus allegation against all the appellants. As per the injury report, the injury sustained by the injured is simple in nature caused by hard and blunt substance. There is no allegation of hurling of caste related abuse in public place at the informant by the appellants, hence no case is made out under Section SC/ST Act. The co-accused person has been granted anticipatory bail by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 27.11.2025 passed in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 4670 of 2024. Hence, the impugned order may be set aside and the appellants may be granted the privilege of anticipatory bail. 5. Learned Special Public Prosecutor for the State and learned counsel for the informant have vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail to the appellants and submitted that the appellants are actively involved in the present occurrence. 6. Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and also the fact that the appellants bear clean antecedent coupled with the fact that the co-accused, having Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.4677 of 2024(4) dt.12-02-2026 5/5 more or less similar allegation, have already been granted the privilege of anticipatory bail by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, let the above named appellants, in the event of their arrest/surrender within a period of six weeks, be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Ten thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Additional District & Sessions Judge-1st-cum-Special Judge (SC/ST), Bettiah, West Champaran, in connection with Sirisiya P.S. Case No. 12 of 2024 subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.. 7. Accordingly, this appeal is allowed and the impugned order dated 02.09.2024 rejecting the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail to the appellants is set aside. shivam/- (Praveen Kumar, J) U T