Raja Kumar @ Bikku vs The State of Bihar

Court
Patna High Court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No.1319 of 2026
CNR No. BRHC010320962026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-142 Year-2024 Thana- BEN P.S. District- Nalanda
======================================================
Raja Kumar @ Bikku S/o Sanatan Manjhi Through his natural / legal
guardian (Mother) Rinku Devi (Female) aged about 33 Years W/o Sanatan
Manjhi. R/o - Choti Ant, P.S - Ben, District - Nalanda
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Appellant/s : Mr. Shashank Shekhar, Advocate
For the Respondent/s : Mr. Anand Mohan Prasad Mehta, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 03-11-2026

Heard Mr. Shashank Shekhar, learned counsel for the
appellant and Mr. Anand Mohan Prasad Mehta, learned A.P.P. for
the State.
2. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant
submits that the present appeal has been filed against the order
dated 03.01.2026 passed by the learned District & Additional
Sessions Judge-I, Nalanda at Bihar Sharif in Children Case No. 05
of 2025 arising out of Ben P.S. Case No. 142 of 2024 registered for
the offences punishable under Sections 103(1), 61(2) and 3(5) of
the BNS, 2023 as well as Sections 25(1-b)a, 26 and 35 of the Arms
Act.

Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1319 of 2026 dt.03-11-2026
2/6
3. Learned counsel submits that by the order impugned
dated 03.01.2026, the learned District & Additional Sessions
Judge-I, Nalanda at Bihar Sharif has rejected the application of the
appellant for sending the case back to the learned J.J. Board for
trial and disposal because the offences, as alleged against him, are
not triable by the learned Sessions Court. It is further submitted
that the appeal was taken up on 21.09.2026, when a learned
Coordinate Bench of this Court had sought a report from the
learned Additional District & Sessions Judge-I, Nalanda at Bihar
Sharif that as to how the appellant is facing trial before the
Children Court. It is next submitted that Ben P.S. Case No. 142 of
2024 came to be instituted by the informant alleging that on
14.11.2024 at about 03:50 p.m. his father, namely, Karu Tanti was
going towards south via PCC road when all of a sudden the
informant heard the sound of firing, thus, he along with other
family members reached the place of occurrence and, accordingly,
the informant along with his family members reached the place of
occurrence and found his father in a pool of blood and saw Munna
Kumar had shot his father and was talking on phone to one Sudhir
and was asking him to come at Western side of the village near a
tree with the bike. It is further alleged that thereafter Ashish Raj @
Sudhir came on a bike and thereafter Munna along with Sudhir

Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1319 of 2026 dt.03-11-2026
3/6
fled from the place of occurrence on the bike and thereafter the
injured was taken to Bihar Sharif Sadar Hospital where Doctors
declared his father dead, thus, the instant FIR came to be instituted
against Munna and Ashish Raj @ Sudhir.
4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant
submits that from perusal of the allegation as alleged in the FIR, it
would manifest that informant, who is son of the deceased,
specifically alleges that on hearing the sound of firing, he reached
the place of occurrence and saw Munna firing at his father and
thereafter called Sudhir who came and both of them fled away. It
is further submitted that during the course of investigation, Munna
surrendered and his confessional statement was recorded wherein
he confessed that he was aggrieved by the act of the father of the
informant and, thus, had complained to his brother, namely, Sudhir
who had provided him with the arms and he shot the father of the
informant. It is next submitted that Sudhir was arrested and he also
corroborated the confessional statement of Munna. It is also
submitted that in view of the materials which transpired during the
course of investigation amply reflects that Munna confessed about
his participation in the crime being aggrieved by the deceased and
after obtaining arms from his brother Sudhir shot the father of the
informant and Sudhir also corroborated the confessional statement

Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1319 of 2026 dt.03-11-2026
4/6
of Munna that he had provided the arms to Munna for committing
the occurrence. It is, thus, submitted that the appellant in the
instant appeal is neither named in the FIR nor the informant even
raises suspicison against him and even the accused in their
confessional statement have not even remotely suggested about the
participation of the appellant in the occurrence but then appellant
came to be apprehended six months after the occurrence by the
villagers as he was found carrying gun by which the occurrence
was committed, thus, he was handed over to the police and before
the police the appellant confessed that he saw Munna and Sudhir
fleeing from the place of occurrence after throwing the arms, thus,
he picked the arms. Further, disclosed that while he was going to
the flour mill by his bicycle when he fell when Sanjiv came and
tried to reason out with him, hence, the appellant became angry
and brought the arms which he had picked from the place of
occurrence with an intent to threaten him but then was apprehened
by the villagers and was handed over to the police. It is, thus,
submitted that from perusal of the confessional statement of the
appellant, it would manifest that he had not participated in the
occurrence of the killing of the father of the informant.
5. At this stage, Mr. Anand Mohan Prasad Mehta,
learned A.P.P. submits that the issue being argued by the learned

Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1319 of 2026 dt.03-11-2026
5/6
counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant has no relevance for
adjudicating the issue raised in the instant appeal. It is further
submitted that the appellant is aggrieved by the order impunged on
the ground that his case has not been transferred to the J.J. Board
for trial instead his trial is being conducted before the Children
Court when he is a minor. It is next submitted that the learned
Coordinate Bench of this Court had sought a report from the
concerned Court on the ground that the order impugned did not
record the basis, based on which the case of the appellant was
referred to the Children Court. It is next submitted that in
compliance of the order dated 21.09.2026 passed by the learned
Coordinate Bench of this Court, a report from the learned
Presiding Officer, Children Court-cum-District & Additional
Sessions Judge-I, Nalanda at Bihar Sharif is on record contained in
letter no. 282 dated 30.09.2026. It is further submitted that the
report clearly records that the learned J.J. Board assessed the
appellant in between 16-18 years and in terms of Section 15 of the
J.J. Act, 2015 the assessment of the appellant was made and he
was found capable of understanding the consequences of his action
and, thus, his case was transferred to the learned Children Court
under Section 18(3) of the J.J. Act, 2015. It is, thus, submitted that
the learned J.J. Board, after assessing the mental condition of the

Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.1319 of 2026 dt.03-11-2026
6/6
appellant, found it to be a fit case for being referred to the Children
Court for trial. It is next submitted that whether appellant was
involved in the occurrence of killing or not or he came to be
implicated at the behest of the villagers with arms with an
allegation that the arms was used in the occurrence of killing of the
father of the informant are aspects to be dealt in the trial.
6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant
is not in a positition to rebut the submisions of the learned A.P.P.
for the State.
7. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and
taking into consideration the submissions made by the learned
A.P.P. for the State, the Court is not inclined to entertain the
appeal.
8. Hence, the appeal is rejected.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Kundan/-
AFR/NAFR N.A.
CAV DATE N.A.
Uploading Date 04.11.2026
Transmission Date 04.11.2026