THE STATE OF BIHAR & ANR. versus AMIT KUMAR @ BACHCHA RAL

Citation: [2017] 4 S.C.R. 503 · Decided: 20-04-2017 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: N.V. RAMANA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 3 judgment(s) · cites 3 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2017] 4 S.C.R. 503 
THE STATE OF BIHAR & ANR. 
v. 
AMIT KUMAR @ BACHCHA RAl 
(Criminal Appeal No. 767 of 2017) 
APRIL 20, 20 l 7 
(N. V. RAMANA AND PRAFULLA C. PANT, JJ.J 
A 
B 
Bail - Grant of - Challenge to - Bihar Toppers Scam - In 
Intermediate examination conducted by Bihar Intermediate 
Education Council, the students of some colleges were succes.~ful C 
in occupying first ten places in merit list - This was followed by 
scathing reports in electronic media about their poor intellectual 
capacity - Subsequently, wrilten complaint was lodged by the 
Director of Secondary Education - Consequently, FIR was regisiered 
uls.420, 465, 468, 471, I 20B of Penal Code - Pursuant thereto, 
investigation was conducted, which led to arresr of respondent along D 
with other accused persons - However, High Court granted 
conditional bail to respondent - On appeal, held: Respondent-
accused is charged with economic offences of huge magnitude and 
is alleged to be the kingpin/ring leader - During investigation, 
various documents relating to property, cash and in addition to this, 
E 
large number of answer sheets, letter heads, rubber stamps of 
several authorities, admit cards, illegal.fire arm etc. were recovered, 
which establishes a prima facie case against the respondent -
Offences alleged. if proved, may jeopardize the credibility of 
education system of Bihar - Further, investigating agency is going 
to file additional charge sheet - Therefore, respondents presence 
F 
in custody is necessary for further investigation - Not advisable to 
release respondent on bail at this stage - Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1973 - s.439 - Penal Code, 1860 - ss. 420, 465, 468, 
471,120B - Constitution of India - Art.21. 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD: 1. A bare reading of the order impugned discloses 
that the High Court has not given any reasoning while granting 
bail. In a mechanical way, the High Court granted bail more on 
the fact that the accused is already in custody for a long time. 
503 
G 
H 
504 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2017] 4 S.C.R. 
A When the seriousness of the offence is such mere fact that he 
was in jail for however long time should not be the concern of the 
Courts. There was a casual approach while granting bail in a case 
which has the effect of undermining the trust of people in the 
integrity of the education system in the State of Bihar. [Para 
B 
c 
9][508-B-D] 
2. The accused is charged with economic offences of huge 
magnitude and is alleged to be the kingpin/ring leader. Further it 
is alleged that the respondent-accused is involved in tampering 
with the answer sheets by illegal means and interfering with the 
examination system of Bihar Intermediate Examination 2(116 and 
thereby securing top ranks, for his daughter and other students 
of Vishnu Rai College, in the said examination. During the 
investigation when a search team raided his place various 
documents relating to property and land to the tune of I<s. 2.57 
Cr. were recovered besides Rs.20 lakhs in cash. In addition to 
D this, allegedly a large number of written answer sheets of various 
students, letter heads and rubber stamps of several authorities, 
admit cards, illegal fire arm etc. were found which establishes a 
prima facie case against the respondent. The allegations against 
the respondent are very serious in nature, which are reflected 
E 
from the excerpts of the case dairy. The offences alleged, if proved, 
may jeopardize the credibility of the education system of State of 
Bihar. [Para 10][508-D-GJ 
3. There is no straight jacket formula for consideration of 
grant of bail to an accused. It all depends upon the facts and 
circumstances of each case. The Government's interest in 
F 
preventing crime hy arrestees is both legitimate and compelling. 
So also is the cherished right of personal liberty envisaged under 
Article 21 of the Constitution. Section 439 of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1973, which is the bail provision, places responsibility 
upon the courts to uphold procedural fairness before a person's 
G liberty is abridged. Although 'bail is the rule and jail is an 
exception' is well established in our jurisprudence, competing 
forces present in facts and circumstances of each case have to be 
measured before enlarging a person on bail. [Para 12)[51J9-B-D) 
4. It is well settled that socio-economic offences constitute 
a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in 
H 
THE STATE OF BIHAR & ANR. v

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