Chhotu Manjhi @ Chotu Manjhi @ Nikhil Manjhi v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.46626 of 2022 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-289 Year-2021 Thana- PUNPUN District- Patna ====================================================== CHHOTU MANJHI @ CHOTU MANJHI @ NIKHIL MANJHI S/o Devsharan Manjhi Resident of Village- Kamalpura, P.S.- Punpun, DistrictPatna. ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
THE STATE OF BIHAR PATNA ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr.Anuj Kumar, Adv.
For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr.Vinod Shanker Modi,Adv.
====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH ORAL ORDER 16-12-2022 Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned APP for the State.
The petitioner seeks regular bail in connection with Special Case No. 162 of 2021 arising out of Punpun P.S. Case No. 289/2021, registered for the offence punishable under Section 8 of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act.
The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the victim girl, aged about twelve years, had gone to attend call of nature, beside the village road, however, in the meantime, the petitioner and one other accused person, namely, Ranjit Manjhi, had
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.46626 of 2022(2) dt.16-12-2022 2/3 arrived there and caught hold of the victim girl, whereafter, they had taken her to a lonely place with bad intentions, however, in the meantime, on account of the alarm raised by the informant, some ladies present nearby had arrived there, leading to the accused persons having fled away. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is innocent, he has been falsely implicated in the present case, he is having a clean antecedent and he is languishing in custody since 11.11.2021. The learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the co-accused person, namely, Ranjit Manjhi @ Ranjit Kumar, has already been granted bail, by a coordinate Bench of this Court, vide order dated 29.9.2022, passed in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 37406 of 2022.
Per contra, the learned APP for the State has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail.
Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.46626 of 2022(2) dt.16-12-2022 3/3 petitioner and taking into account the materials available on record as also considering the parity of the case of the petitioner with that of the coaccused person, who has already been granted bail by a coordinate Bench of this Court, I deem it fit and proper to direct for release of the petitioner on regular bail.
Accordingly, the above named petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 10,000/- (rupees ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Additional Sessions Judge VII-cum-Exclusive Special Court (POCSO Act), Patna in connection with Special Case No. 162 of 2021 arising out of Punpun P.S. Case No. 289 of 2021. (Mohit Kumar Shah, J) Ajay/SonalU T