Jharkhand High Court
Mausam Kumar Singh @ Mausam Kumar vs The State Of Jharkhand on 13 May, 2026
Author: Sanjay Prasad
Bench: Sanjay Prasad
2026:JHHC:15277
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026
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Mausam Kumar Singh @ Mausam Kumar, aged about 19 years, S/o Sri Vijay Kumar Singh, R/o Village- Mayapur, PO- Gulabjhari, PS- Nawdiha (Bazar), District- Palamu (Jharkhand) ...... Appellant Versus
1. The State of Jharkhand
2. Chandan Paswan aged about 38 years, S/o late Chandrashekhar Paswan, resident of Semon Nagar, Kohratoli, Kokar, Near Don Basco School, ITI, Galli, PO- Kokar, PS- Sadar, District- Ranchi, Jharkhand ..... Respondents With Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026 ....
Abhishek Kumar, aged about 19 years, Son of Nirmal Kumar Singh, Resident of Near Cambrian School, Rani Began, Bariatu, Post Office- Bariatu, Police Station, Bariatu, District- Ranchi ...... Appellant Versus
1. The State of Jharkhand
2. Chandan Paswan S/o late Chandrashekhar Paswan , resident of Sion Nagar, Khorhatoli, Near Don Basco School, ITI, Gali, Hehal, Post Office- Hehal, Police Station- Sadar, District- Ranchi, ..... Respondents
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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY PRASAD
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For the Appellants : Mr. A. K. Kashyap, Senior Advocate Mrs. Supriya Dayal, Advocate [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026] Mr. Ranjan Kumar Singh, Advocate [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026] For the State : Mr. Rajesh Kumar, A. P. P. [in both cases] For the Informant : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Thakur, Advocate [in both cases] ......
05/13.05.2026 It appears that office has wrongly placed the counter affidavit/written statement filed on behalf of the State of 1 2026:JHHC:15277 Jharkhand, which has been filed in Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 215 of 2026 on 30.04.2026.
Let it be detached from the records of this instant Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026 and be placed before the appropriate case by the office.
2. These Criminal Appeals i.e. Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026 and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026 have been heard together and are being disposed of together as they arise by the common F.I.R. dated 17.11.2024 instituted under section 103/3(5) of BNS, 2023 and section 3(1)(r)s) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Informant namely Chandan Paswan on account of death of his son Raja Paswan in the campus of B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi and who later on succumbed to his injuries.
3. Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026 has been filed on behalf the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh, who is a student of 5th Semester of B.I.T. MESRA, Ranchi and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026 has been filed on behalf of the appellant- Abhishek Kumar. who is also a student of 3rd Semester of Diploma in E.C Branch at B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi.
4. Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026 has been filed on the behalf of the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh challenging the order dated 28.01.2026 passed in Misc. Cr. App. No. 114 of 2026 by Sri Shyam Nandan Tiwari, learned Additional Judicial Commissioner-II-Cum-Special Judge SC/ST, Ranchi and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026 has been filed on the behalf of the appellant-Abhishek Kumar challenging the order dated 21.02.2026 passed in Misc. Cr. App. No. 361 of 2026 by Sri Shyam Nandan Tiwari, learned Additional Judicial Commissioner-II-Cum-Special Judge SC/ST, Ranchi in 2 2026:JHHC:15277 connection with Sadar (Mesra) P.S. Case No. 495 of 2024) instituted under Section 103/3(5) of BNS Act and under Section 3(1)(r)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act [hereinafter to be referred as S.C./S.T. Act] by which the prayer for bail of the appellants have been rejected.
5. Heard Mr. A. K. Kashyap, learned Senior Counsel appearing in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026 and Mr. Ranjan Kumar Singh, learned counsel appearing in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, learned APP for the State in both the above criminal appeals, Mr. Sanjay Kr. Thakur, learned counsel for the Respondent No. 2 in both the above criminal appeals.
6. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 17.11.2024 the informant Chandan Paswan had submitted written application before the Officer In-charge of B.I.T MESRA, O.P, Ranchi for instituting a case of murder against some unknown students and College Administration of BIT MESRA by stating therein that on 14.11.2024 at around 8.00 p.m. in the night his son Raja Paswan, who was the student of 3rd Semester of B.I.T MESRA, Polytechnic College, had asked him on telephone to arrive immediately there because some students are abusing him in the name of Dalit and Harijan. He also stated that after some time even he had been informed by the Vice-Principal Warden Prabhat Ranjan Mahto of B.I.T MESRA that his son (i.e. Raja Paswan) is doing vomiting and is becoming unconscious and then the informant along with his wife Gayatri Devi arrived at B.I.T Hostel by the Auto Rickshaw and saw that his son (i.e. Raja Paswan) is becoming unconscious and is vomiting. Thereafter they brought him to their house in the night and on 3 2026:JHHC:15277 the next day they took him to RIMS Hospital and where in course of treatment his son died. He also stated that there are signs of assault by Lathi, Danda and Belt in the whole body of his son and hence strict actions may be taken against the concerned accused persons.
7. It has been submitted by learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant-Mausam Kumar Singh and learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant-Abhishek Kumar that earlier the prayer for bail of the appellants- Mausam Kumar Singh, who had earlier filed Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 and Abhishek Kumar, who had earlier filed Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 364 of 2025 have been rejected by this Court vide order dated 12.08.2025 with the observation 'at this stage'.
8. It is further submitted that the appellants are innocent and have committed no offence and have been falsely implicated in this case. It is further submitted that the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026], who is a student of 5th Semester of B.I.T. MESRA, Ranchi and the appellant- Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026], who is also a student of 3rd Semester of Diploma in E.C Branch at B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi.
It is further submitted that other co-accused-Nipun Tirkey has already been granted bail by this Court in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 871 of 2025 vide order dated 19.02.2026. It is further submitted that the case of the appellant stands on similar footings. It is further submitted that the appellants have no criminal antecedent. It is submitted that the appellants are in custody since 23.11.2024 i.e. for more than one year and undertake to abide the terms and conditions imposed by this Court and hence they may be enlarged on bail.
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9. Learned counsel for the State has opposed the prayer for bail and submitted that there is no merit in these Criminal Appeals. It is submitted that the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh had assaulted the deceased- Raju Paswan by fists and slaps and thereafter other students i.e. Abhishek Kumar and Nipun Tirkey and other co-accused had assaulted the deceased- Raju Paswan by fists and slaps severely and due to which the deceased-Raju Paswan had sustained severe injuries and succumbed to his death. It is further submitted that the deceased- Raju Paswan had received multiple injuries on his person both on external and internal due to the acts of the appellants and other co-accused persons. It is submitted that from perusal of Para-2 of the case diary which is statement of the informant, it is clear that he has supported the allegations and other witnesses namely, Sobhnath Dev, Gauri Shankar Giri, Prabhat Ranjan Mahto, Rajendra Mahto, Anuj Mahto, Sumit Mahto, Deepraj Shekhar, Sandeep Verma, Rajiv Kumar, Ayush Pritam, Yuraj Kumar, Jitesh Karmali, Victim Girl 'X' and Raja Soni respectively whose statements have been recorded at Para-7, 8, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 34 to 38, 50 & 52 of the case diary have fully supported the case of prosecution. It is submitted that Para-117 of the case diary refers Post-mortem report of the deceased, cause of death is shown due to combined effect of head injury and asphyxia as a result of pressure over neck and chest and their complications. It is submitted that after investigation the case, police had submitted a charge sheet against the appellants and hence the prayer for bail of the appellants may be rejected.
10. On the other hand, learned counsel for the informant, after adopting the submission of learned APP, has submitted that the appellants have deliberately assaulted the deceased - Raju 5 2026:JHHC:15277 Paswan, who is the son of the Informant and due to assault made upon the appellants and other co-accused persons, the deceased- Raja Paswan succumbed to injuries. It is submitted that the Informant has received cheque of Rs. Twenty Lakh (Rs. 20,00,000/-) from BIT, Mesra in light of the order dated 12.08.2025 passed in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 along with other analogous cases and encashed the same.
11. It is submitted that several witnesses have supported the allegation against the appellants- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026] and Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026] and who had assaulted the deceased -Raja Paswan initially and thereafter the deceased -Raja Paswan assaulted by other co-accused persons and hence the prayer for bail of the appellant may be rejected.
12. Having heard learned counsels for the parties and from going through the records, it appears that the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026] and the appellant-Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026] and other accused persons had assaulted the deceased- Raja Paswan and due to which, he succumbed to injury at RIMS, Ranchi. It appears that the appellants have moved before this Court for grant of bail by filing Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 364 of 2025 and this Court has rejected the bail of the appellants Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar vide order dated 12.08.2025 with the observation 'at this stage'.
13. It appears that though appellants are not named in the FIR, however, during Police investigation their name came to surface and they were remanded before the learned Court below on 23.11.2024 by the Sub-Inspector, MESRA O.P, Ranchi.
62026:JHHC:15277
14. It appears that name of the appellants transpired in this case on the basis of statements of Rajendra Mahto (Assistant Warden of Hostel No.1), Anuj Mahto, Sumit Mahto (another student of 3 rd Semester) and Deep Raj Shekhar, whose statements have been made in para-19, 21, 22 and 23 of the case diary.
15. Even, from perusal of statement of witness Gouri Shankar Giri, Supervisor Security of BIT MESRA Polytechnic College (para-8 of the case diary), it appears that he also supported the FIR and stated that Fresher's Party was being organized on 14.11.2024 to welcome new students and the College students were enjoying the party and then in the meantime, one girl student 'x' (name not disclosed), Student of C.S. Branch of 3rd Semester was taking her photographs with one another student Rajiv then suddenly the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh student of 5thSemester saw them taking photograph and he started assaulting Rajiv and forbade him from taking photo with the said girl student 'X' (name not disclosed) as she is his Lover and there was scuffle between Rajiv and appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh. Thereafter the appellant along with security personnels arrived there and pacified the matter. However, in the meantime, the deceased Raja Paswan came there and enquired as to who had assaulted Rajiv then the the appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh also taunted upon the deceased Raja Paswan and there was quarrel between deceased Raja Paswan and the appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh and then the co-accused Nipun Tirkey, Rajkumar Seth, Yogesh Kumar, another Abhishek Kumar (i.e. the appellant herein) and their batch mates surrounded deceased Raja Paswan and assaulted him by leg, shoe and belt, but he got 7 2026:JHHC:15277 the matter pacified. However, due to assault, the shirt of Raja Paswan was fully torned and then one Raja Soni, who was roommate of Raja Paswan, handed over his jacket to deceased Raja Paswan and all of them were going to hostel. Thereafter, in the meantime, a phone was received in the mobile of deceased Raja Paswan, then Raja Paswan went outside the College by scaling the boundary wall of College Campus and who was followed by Cook and Security Personnels of the College. Thereafter he heard the alarm from outside then he along with other security personnels went outside and found that the deceased Raja Paswan and other students of the College namely, Deep Raj Shekhar, Sumit Kumar, Anuj Kumar were being assaulted by legs, shoes and belt by the local students by forming the unruly mob and despite the arrival of College security personnels they continuously used to assault deceased Raja Paswan and other students. Thereafter a meeting was called for by the CollegeAdministration and while the matter was being enquired from the students of 3rd Semester then suddenly Raja Paswan became unconscious then he informed this fact to the Director of the College by phone. Thereafter, Raja Paswan was sent to BIT Dispensary Main Campus, but seeing the seriousness of his condition, the deceased Raja Paswan was referred to RIMS, Ranchi and thereafter the information was given to the family members of deceased Raja Paswan and who arrived at the College campus. But, the College Management informed the family members of deceased Raja Paswan that Raja Paswan had taken wine in large quantity, due to which he has become unwell and then the family members of deceased took him to his house situated at Kokar and kept him there for the whole night and on the next morning the deceased was taken 8 2026:JHHC:15277 to RIMS, Ranchi on 15.11.2024 where he died during course of treatment.
16. From perusal of statement of witness namely, Somnath Deogharia, Mess Supervisor at BIT MESRA Polytechnic College (para-7 of the case diary), it would appear that he stated that in the evening of 14.11.2024 a Fresher's Party was organized in the College for welcoming the new students and while he was doing work in the Mess which is adjacent to boundary then he heard the noise outside the boundary and upon which, he along with Prabhat Ranjan Mahto (Assistant Warden of Hostel No.2, BIT MESRA) and security personnels went outside by scaling the boundary then he found that the deceased Raja Paswan and other students namely Deep Raj Shekhar, Sumit Kumar Mahto and Anuj Kumar were being assaulted by the mob of local students by legs, shoes and belt and in spite of their arrival they continuously assaulted Raja Paswan (i.e. the deceased) and other students. However, when other security personnels arrived there and the injured students were brought inside the campus then the said mob fled away. Thereafter the College Management called all the students in the meeting hall and was enquiring about the assault then suddenly deceased Raja Paswan became unconscious and upon which he informed the said matter to the Director of the College and then deceased Raja Paswan was sent to BIT Dispensary Main Campus for first aid treatment and from when the Doctor seeing the seriousness of his condition, referred him to RIMS, Ranchi for better treatment. Thereafter the College Management informed the family members of the Raja Paswan to arrive at the College and upon their arrival they met him in the College campus and then the College Management informed the family members of 9 2026:JHHC:15277 deceased Raja Paswan that Raja Paswan had taken wine in bulk quantities and he has become unwell and family members of Raja Paswan took him to their house at Kokar, Ranchi and kept him there for the whole night. On the next day, when the family members of deceased Raja Paswan took him to RIMS Hospital, Ranchi, but Raja Paswan died during course of treatment and then the family members of the deceased informed this fact to the BIT MESRA O.P and after doing all the formality the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan lodged FIR on 17.11.2024.
17. From going through the statement of said Prabhat Ranjan Mahto, Assistant Warden of Hostel No.2, BIT MESRA (para-18 of the case diary), it would appear that he appellant- Mausam Kumar and his friends namely Nipun Tirkey, Rajkumar Seth, Yogesh Kumar, appellant Abhishek Kumar had brutally assaulted him by legs, shoes and belt. Thereafter while the matter was being pacified then deceased Raja Paswan received a call in his mobile made by one Deep Raj Shekhar (para-23 of the case diary) and Raja Paswan, Deep Raj Shekhar, another Abhishek Kumr and Sumit Kumar Mahto were brutally assaulted by the co-accused-Sahil Ansari and the co-accused Irfan Ansari and mob of 10-15persons by belt, shoes and legs and they were so emboldened that despite presence of College Security Personnels, they did not stop rather they continued to assault them brutally. Thereafter the College Administration had brought the deceased Raja Paswan and other students in the campus and on seeing the condition of deceased Raja Paswan, the College Administration informed the family members of deceased Raja Paswan that the deceased had taken wine in bulk quantities and has become unwell.
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18. Thus, from perusal of statement of Somnath Deogharia and Prabhat Ranjan Mahto, it would appear that the College Administration had misled the parents of the deceased Raja Paswan and they had concealed the assault sustained by the deceased Raja Paswan at the hands of the appellants persons namely Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar and subsequently they also concealed the brutal assault caused by co-accused-Sahil Ansari and co-accused Irfan Ansari and his 12 other boys i.e. namely (i) Ekramul Ansari, (ii) Sehran Hussain
(iii) Sahil Ansari (iv) Jabir Ansari (v) Sahbaj Ansari (vi) Rijwan Ansari (vii) Raja Ansari (viii) Sami Ansari (ix) Sahir Ansari (x) Danish Ansari (xi) Abdul Rakib (xii) Sohail Ansari. Even the College Administration had not disclosed the name of any doctor for treating him at medical dispensary of BIT MESRA, Main Campus.
19. It also appears that the witness Rajendra Mahto (para- 19 of the case diary) is posted as the Warden of Hostel No.1, BIT MESRA,has stated that a Fresher's Party was organized for new students in the College on 14.11.2024 and students of the College were enjoying the party then student 'X' (name not being disclosed) student of 3rd Semester of Computer Science Branch was getting her photograph with, another Student one Rajiv then suddenly Mausam Kumar (i.e. the appellant), student of 5th Semester arrived there and started abusing Rajiv by claiming that student 'X' (name not being disclosed) as is his lover and why he is snapping photograph with her. Then the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026] caught hold of collar of Rajiv and started quarreling but the security personnels arrived there and set the matter at rest. In the meantime, the deceased Raja Paswan came there and 11 2026:JHHC:15277 enquired as to who assaulted Rajiv then said Mausam Kumar Singh claimed to assault him and he also started assaulting him and then the appellant Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026] and co-accused persons Rajkumar Seth, Yogesh Kumar, Nipun Tirkey, who were friends of the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026] started assaulting the deceased Raja Paswan by legs, shoes and belt by surrounding him then the witness got the matter pacified. In course of assault, the shirt of Raja Paswan was fully torned then one Raja Soni who was roommate of Raja Paswan gave him a jacket and then all started going towards hostel. But in the meantime, a phone suddenly came in the mobile of Raja Paswan then Raja Paswan scaled the boundary of College campus by running and who was followed by cook and security personnels of the College. After some time, they heard the sound of shouting and the security personnels went outside and found that the deceased Raja Paswan and some students of the College namely, Deep Raj Shekhar, Sumit Kumar Mahto and Anuj Kumar were being brutally assaulted by some local boys by forming mob and they were assaulting Raja Paswan, Deep Raj Shekhar, Sumit Kumar Mahto and Anuj Kumar by legs, shoes and belt and despite being forbade to do so, those boys continuously assaulted Raja Paswan and other students. He identified the co-accused-Sahil Ansari who was pass out student of the College and he forbade him from assaulting them and then co-accused Sahil agreed but his other friends did not agree and they continuously assaulted them and thereafter further security personnels of the College arrived there and the students were brought inside the campus of the boundary wall and then the said accused persons fled away. Thereafter the College 12 2026:JHHC:15277 Management called for a meeting of all the students and enquired about the quarrel and while they were making enquiry from the students of 3rd Semester then in the meantime, the deceased Raja Paswan became unconscious and then he informed about this to the Director of the College. Thereafter the deceased Raja Paswan was sent to primary treatment before the BIT MESRA Dispensary main campus and where the Doctor, seeing the seriousness, referred into RIMS for better treatment. Thereafter College Management informed the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan to arrive immediately at the College who live in mohalla Kokar and who arrived at the College campus and thereafter the College Management informed the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan that deceased Raja Paswan had taken wine in large quantities due to which he is unwell and whereupon the family members of Raja Paswan took him to the house and took him in the whole night at his residence at Kokar and in the next morning on 15.11.2024 the mother of Raja Paswan found his condition unwell and thereafter the family members of the deceased took him to RIMS Hospital, Ranchi where he died in course of treatment and then family members of deceased Raja Paswan informed about this to BIT MESRA O.P and after doing entire formality the case was instituted on 17.11.2024.
20. From perusal of statement of Rajendra Mahto(para-19 of the case diary), Warden of Hostel No.1, it would appear that he had stated the same and similar facts as stated by Prabhat Ranjan Mahto by taking the name of the appellants namely Mausam Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar and the co-accused Sahil Ansari and others.
21. Thus, from the statement of even Rajendra Mahto, it 13 2026:JHHC:15277 would appear that the College Administration has concealed the fact of assault sustained by the deceased Raja Paswan at the hands of the appellants-Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar and subsequently they also concealed the brutally assault caused to the deceased-Raja Paswan by co-accused-Sahil Ansari and the co-accused Irfan Ansari and his 12 other boys i.e. namely (i) Ekramul Ansari, (ii) Sehran Hussain (iii) Sahil Ansari
(iv) Jabir Ansari (v)Sahbaj Anari (vi) Rijwan Ansari (vii) Raja Ansari (viii) Sami Ansari (ix) Sahir Ansari (x) Danish Ansari
(xi) Abdul Rakib (xii) Sohail Ansari.
Even the College Administration has not disclosed the name of any doctor for treating him at medical dispensary of BIT MESRA, Main Campus.
22. From perusal of statement of witnesses i.e. College students of BIT MESRA namely, Anuj Kumar Mahto, Sumit Mahto and Deep Raj Shekhar, whose statements have been recorded in para-21, 22 and 23 of the case diary, it would appear that on 14.11.2024 they had gone outside the College campus by scaling the wall secretly to take meal at BIT, Johar Dhaba and while they were returning and just about the scale of the boundary of the campus of the hostel then they saw that one Abhishek Kumar, (another student) of 5th Semester of EEE Branch was lying on the ground and when they wished him then they received no reaction, then they asked the nearby local people who were taking drugs, as to why they had assaulted him (i.e. Abhishek Kumar) then those people started abusing and assaulting him and they were 10-15 in numbers then witness Anuj Kumar Mahto rang in the mobile of deceased Raja Paswan and then Raja Paswan also came before them by scaling the wall of the College campus and from where they used to come 14 2026:JHHC:15277 secretly and upon arrival of deceased Raja Paswan, all those 10- 15 people started assaulting him and when they protested then those people taunted that Raja Paswan is Boss of them and he had arrived to save them and hence those people brutally assaulted Raja Paswan by leg, shoes and belt due to which he become seriously injured. Upon hearing the noise of alarm, the security personnels of the College, Prabhat Ranjan Mahto (para18 of the case diary), Somnath Deogharia (para-7 of the case diary) and Gouri Shankar Giri (para-8 of the case diary) also arrived there by scaling the boundary of the College and they also tried to save them from the clutches of the local people but they were overpowered by them due to being much in number and thereafter on hearing their alarm, other security personnels also arrived there by scaling the wall and saved them from the local people. He also stated that Prabhat Ranjan Mahto, College Warden had identified one local pass out student co- accused Sahil Ansari and to whom said Prabhat Ranjan Mahto had asked him, to stop the assault. They further stated that thereafter College Management called all the students in the meeting hall to enquire about the quarrel in the College campus and for which they were enquiring from the students of 3rd Semester then suddenly the deceased Raja Paswan became unconscious then they had informed the Director of the College on telephone and thereafter Raja Paswan was sent to BIT Dispensary, Main Campus for first aid treatment and from where the doctor referred him to RIMS, Ranchi. Thereafter the College Management had informed the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan to immediately arrive at the College and when they arrived at the College then they informed the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan that Raja Paswan had taken wine in 15 2026:JHHC:15277 large quantities and due to which he is not well and upon which, his family members took the deceased Raja Paswan to their house and kept him at their residence for whole night. On the next morning, the deceased-Raja Paswan was taken to RIMS, Ranchi and where he died during course of treatment and then the family members of Raja Paswan informed the BIT MESRA O.P. about his death and then F.I.R was lodged on 17.11.2024.
23. Therefore, it is clear from the statements of Somnath Deogharia, Prabhat Ranjan Mahto and Rajendra Mahto that on the one hand they had concealed the fact of first part of brutal assault inside the College campus upon the deceased Raja Paswan on 14.11.2024 and again they concealed the second part of brutal assault upon the deceased Raja Paswan, rather the conduct of College Administration reveals that instead of taking proper step by the management for getting him treated, they allowed him to go with his parents by falsely stating that deceased Raja Paswan had taken wine in large quantities due to which he became unwell. Had they stated or narrated the actual fact of brutal assault made upon the deceased Raja Paswan and upon several other people, who were 10-15 in numbers, the matter would have been different. The parents could see the signs of assault of Belt, Lathi and Danda on 15.11.2024 at RIMS upon the deceased Raja Paswan while he was under treatment and the deceased had died due to negligence on the part of the CollegeManagement and also due to assault made by these four appellants and also the unruly Mob who were 10-15 in numbers.
24. It further appears from the statement of witness namely, Sandip Verma, Rajiv Kumar, Ayush Priyam, Yuvraj Kumar and Jitesh Karmali recorded at para- 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38 of the case diary on 19.11.2024 and they have stated the same facts as 16 2026:JHHC:15277 has been stated by Somnath Deogharia (para-7 of the case diary), Gouri Shankar Giri (para-8 of the case diary) and also stated about the second part of the occurrence as stated earlier by Prabhat Ranjan Mahto (para-18 of the case diary), Rajendra Mahto (para-19 of the case diary), Anuj Kumar, (para-21 of the case diary),Sumit Mahto (para-22 of the case diary) and Deep Raj Shekhar (para-23 of the case diary.
25. Witness Sandip Verma was working as Supervisor Security in BIT MESRA Polytechnic College whereas the witnesses Rajiv Kumar, Ayush Priyam, Yuvraj Kumar and one witness Jitesh Karmali were students of 3rd Semester. They have also stated that the College Administration had informed the family members of deceased Raja Paswan that Raja Paswan had taken wine in large quantities due to which he become unconscious and unwell. Thus, their statement also reveal that BIT MESRA had concealed the fact of first brutal assault and second brutal assault meted out to the deceased Raja Paswan by the appellants namely Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar at the first instance and subsequently by the co-accused namely, Sahil Ansari and Irfan Ansari in the second brutal assault along with 10-15 boys in number.
26. From perusal of statement of witnesses namely, student 'X' (student of 3rd Semester of C.S. Branch), Raja Soni (student of 3rd Semester) recorded at para-50 and 52 of the case diary, it would appear that even student 'X' had supported the first part of the occurrence and had stated that the appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh had an altercation with the another student Rajiv Kumar which was pacified by the College Security Guards and then she went to her hostel. However, witness-Raja Soni (student of 3rd Semester, para-52) stated the same fact as 17 2026:JHHC:15277 has been stated by the witness Gouri Shankar Giri (para-8 of the case diary). Hence the same is not being repeated here. However, the evidence of Raja Soni also reveals that the family members of deceased Raja Paswan were informed that Raja Paswan had taken Alcohol in large quantities and it shows that they had concealed the fact of first brutal assault and second brutal assault.
27. Para-73 and para-76 are the confessional statements of the appellants namely, Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar recorded on 22.11.2024. The appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh is alleged to have stated before the police for having altercation between him and witness Rajiv Kumar (para- 35 of the case diary).
Para-76 is the confessional statement of the appellant Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026] and who is also alleged to have confessed before the police for assaulting the deceased Raja Paswan along with Mausam Kumar in association with the co-accused Nipun Tirkey and other friends. He had assaulted the deceased Raja Paswan due to which shirt of Raja Paswan was torned.
Para-77 is the confessional statement of the Co-accused Nipun Tirkey who is also alleged to have assaulted deceased Raja Paswan along with appellant namely, Mausam Kumar.
28. Para-117 is the post mortem report of the deceased Raja Paswan and it appears that the deceased had sustained as many as nine (09) external injuries and eight (08) internal injuries.
The external injuries upon the person of the deceased Raja Paswan are as follows:-
External:-
1. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 0.5. cm x 0.5 cm, present over 18 2026:JHHC:15277 the nose on left side. 2. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 1 cm x 0.5 cm,present over the face on left side, situated at a point 4 cm inner and 1 cm above the left tragus. 3. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm,present over the forehead in midline, situated at a point 3.5 cm above the glabella. 4. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 5 cm x 0.25 cm,present over the middle part of left cheek. 5. Contusion, reddish blue in colour, measuring 4 cm x 3 cm, present involving the middle part of left cheek. 6. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 2 cm x 0.5 cm, present over the neck on left side, situated at a point 9.5 cm below and 2 cm inner to left mastoid process. 7. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm, present over the front of right leg, situated at a point 5 cm below the right knee joint. 8. Abrasion, reddish in colour, measuring 1 cm x 0.5 cm, present over the front of right leg, situated at a point 6 cm above the right ankle joint. 9. Abrasions, two in number, reddish in colour, measuring 5 cm x 0.25 cm, and 0.5 cm x 0.25 cm respectively, present over the front of right shoulder. Ligature mark:
Ligature mark (measuring 3 cm to 4 cm in width, and 23 cm in length), horizontally situated involving the middle and lower part of neck, starting at a point 8.5 cm below the left mastoid process and ending at a point 9 cm below and 2 cm away from external occipital protuberance of right side. The ligature mark is situated 8.5 cm below the left mastoid process, 6 cm below the angle of mandible on left side, 7 cm above the suprasternal notch and 6.5 cm below the symphysis menti in midline, 7 cm below the angle of mandible on right side, 11 cm below the right mastoid process, and 9 cm below and 2 cm away from external occipital protuberance of right side. Circumference of neck at the level of thyroid cartilage is 37 cm.
The internal injuries on the person of the deceased Raja Paswan have been found, as follows:-
Internal:-
1. Contusion, measuring 6 cm x 4.5 cm, present involving the parietal region of scalp on left side. 2. Contusion, measuring 5 cm x 4 cm, present involving the temporal and occipital region of scalp on right side. 3.
Right temporalis muscle contusion present. 4. Subdural blood and blood 19 2026:JHHC:15277 clots over right side of brain. 5. Contusion, measuring 1 cm x 0.5 cm, present involving the sternohyoid muscle on right side. 6. Contusion, measuring 2 cm x 1 cm, present involving the omohyoid muscle on right side, and surrounding structures. 7. Contusion, measuring 1 cm x 0.5 cm, present involving the omohyoid muscle on right side, and surrounding structures. 8. Contusion, measuring 0.25 cm x 0.25 cm, present involving the posterior aspect of cervical part of oesophageal wall on right side. 9. Both the lungs are diffusely contused. 10.Stomach contains 100 ml of blackish fluid. Stomach walls are congested. 11.Right kidney weighs 100 g; Left kidney weighs 100 g; Both the kidneys are congested. 12.All the internal organs are congested.
The opinion of the doctor regarding the injuries and the cause of death are as under:-
Opinion of medical officer as to the injuries being ante-mortem or post- mortem, nature of probable weapons used, if any, cause of death, time since death; and any additional relevant information
1. The above noted injuries are ante-mortem in nature.
2. Ligature mark is caused by ligature material.
3. Abrasions and contusions are caused by hard and blunt object (s).
4. Death is due to combined effect of head injury, and asphyxia as a result of pressure over neck and chest, and their complications. However, fiscera have been preserved for chemical analysis.
5. Time elapsed since death is 18 hours to 36 hours from the time of post-mortem examination.
6. The viscera have been kept preserved. The Investigating Officer is directed to collect and submit the preserved viscera to FSL for chemical analysis, as soon as possible, preferably within three months.
7. Videography done by the inquest authority and the video CD/cassette is in the possession of the same.
29. Thus, from going through the evidence of the witnesses namely,Somnath Deogharia, Gouri Shankar Giri, Prabaht Ranjan Mahto (Assistant Warden of Hostel No.2), Rajendra Mahto (Assistant Warden of Hostel No.1), Anuj Kumar, Sumit Mahto, 20 2026:JHHC:15277 Deep Raj Shekhar Sandip Verma, Rajiv Kumar, Ayush Priyam, Yuvraj Kumar, Jitesh Karmali, student 'x' (name not disclosed) and Raja Soni, as has been mentioned at Paragraph Nos.7, 8, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 50 and 52 of the case diary, it would appear that even after sustaining the first brutal assault and the second brutal assault, the deceased Raja Paswan, the College authorities had failed to inform the real facts to the parents and family members of the deceased, but they had simply informed that the family members of the deceased Raja Paswan has consumed huge alcohol/wine in large quantities and due to which he has become unwell and is vomiting and they had deliberately concealed the fact of sustaining assault on two different occasions at the hands of the appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar and the co-accused persons Sahil Ansari and Irfan Ansari and others.
30. Thus, the approach of the College Administration is not appreciated by this Court and the father of the deceased have been shown negligent by them and they have taken very casual approach and they had not paid any heed upon the physical conditions and injuries sustained by the deceased Raja Paswan. Had they got treated him at the earliest by admitting him to a good reputed hospital either in RIMS, Ranchi or at any private Hospital in Ranchi perhaps the life of the deceased could have been saved. But the negligent approach of the College administration reveals that they do not took seriously the life of the student who ultimately succumbed to the injuries and they claim to be innocent by putting the blame upon the parents and family members of the deceased Raja Paswan by simply saying that they had pressurized him to take into house instead of taking into hospital to save their own skin. Thus, there is 21 2026:JHHC:15277 negligence and lapses on the part of the College administration also.
31. It appears from the case diary that the appellants namely, Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar alongwith co-accused Nipun Tirkey, Raj Kumar Seth, Yogesh Kumar were involved in the first occurrence for assaulting the deceased Raja Paswan by legs, shoe and belt and due to which the deceased- Raja Paswan son of the Informant was injured and the shirt was torn.
32. It further appears that thereafter deceased- Raja Paswan had received a call on his mobile phone from one of his friend and then he went outside the campus of B.I.T MESRA by scaling the wall and then he was assaulted by (i) Ekramul Ansari, (ii) Sehran Hussain (iii) Sahil Ansari (iv) Jabir Ansari
(v)Sahbaj Anari (vi) Rijwan Ansari (vii) Raja Ansari (viii) Sami Ansari (ix) Sahir Ansari (x) Danish Ansari (xi) Abdul Rakib (xii) Sohail Ansari and thereafter the death was taken place.
33. It has been informed at bar by the learned counsel for the Informant that Informant has received cheque of Rs. Twenty Lakh (Rs. 20,00,000/-) from BIT, Mesra in light of the order dated 12.08.2025 passed in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 along with other analogous cases and which has been encashed also.
34. It appear from the web copy of the order dated 23.03.2026 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Special Leave Petition (Criminal) Diary No. (s). 8469 of 2026 that a sum of Rs. Twenty Lakh (Rs. 20,00,000/-) has been paid to the father of the deceased-student.
35. It further reveals that vide order dated 12.08.2025 passed in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 along with other 22 2026:JHHC:15277 analogous cases, this Court has given various directions to the Senior Officials i.e. the Principal Secretary, Higher and Technical Education, Government of Jharkhand, the Principal Secretary, Secondary Education, Government of Jharkhand and Director General of Police, Jharkhand for smooth function of the Office and also for the purpose of safety and security of students in BIT Mesra and other Educational Institutes all over the State of Jharkhand.
36. The State has filed counter affidavit on 13.04.2026 and it has been stated in para-5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 as follows:-
"Para-5:-That in compliance of the abovementioned order, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for ensuring safety and Security of Students in Higher Education Institutes of Jharkhand was drafted by the Higher and Technical Education and the SOP was sent to the Home department for their comments/advise on the drafted SOP. The Home department also sent its comments on the SOP and the department was in process for finalizing and framing the guidelines through SOP. Para-6:- That it is humbly submitted that in the meanwhile it was observed by the department that a proper Statute is required to enacted on Health and Mental being so that the all the Universities follow a uniform law on health & mental well being of the students and the government can monitor the same carefully.
Para-7:- That it is also submitted that in the meanwhile the Jharkhand State Universities Act, 2025 was also being enacted which serves as an umbrella legislation regulating all the universities in the state. Therefore, the department deemed it proper that a statute be enacted on Health and Mental well being.
Para-8:- That it is humbly submitted that in the meanwhile it came to the knowledge of the department that the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide its order dated 25.07.2025 in Criminal 23 2026:JHHC:15277 Appeal No. 3177/2025 arising out of SLP (crl) No. 378/2024, in exercise of its power conferred upon it under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of fundamental rights and treating this pronouncement as law declared by the Court under Article 141, has issued the guidelines on Mental Health & Suicide prevention which shall remain in force and be binding until such time as appropriate legislation and regulatory frameworks are enacted by the state government. The State government in its Letter No. 150 dated 26.03.2026 directed all State and Private Universities to immediately comply within the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and share the action taken report by 10th April, 2026.
Para-9:- That it is humbly submitted that the Statute for Health Care Management and Mental Wellbeing, 2025 was drafted and shared with all the State Universities for comments on same by 10th April, 2026 vide Letter No. 25 dated 19.01.2026.
The Department has received ATR and Comments from 24 State and Private Universities across the State, which are being assessed for inclusion as suitable provisions in the Statutes. The department shall notify the Statute within 3 months with approval from the Cabinet.
Para-10:- That it is humbly submitted that the delay has incurred due to certain procedural regularities that was required to be followed before enactment of the statue and the same is neither deliberate nor intentional.
Para-11:- That it is humbly prayed that a further time of 12 weeks may kindly be granted to the state so that the statute on health and mental well being may be enacted. The deponent seeks leave of this Hon'ble Court to present the draft statute at the time of hearing ng for reference of the Hon'ble Court."
37. It further reveals that letter dated 28.01.2026 sent by the Superintendent of Police, CID, Jharkhand, Ranchi to I.G. 24 2026:JHHC:15277 (Provision), Jharkhand, Ranchi with regard to preparing Draft Comprehensive SOP and letter dated 28.01.2026 has been enclosed as Annexure- A to the counter affidavit dated 13.04.2026.
38. It further reveals that letter dated 26.03.2026 sent by Sri Sudhir Bara, Director, Department of Higher and Technical Education, Jharkhand, Ranchi to the Registrar, all State Universities and Private Universities of Jharkhand for sending Compliance Report regarding adoption of these Guidelines by the respective Private Universities, State Universities and its Constituent and Affiliated Colleges as per format enclosed in Annexure-2 with supporting documents by 10th of April, 2026 via email at [email protected] and letter dated 26.03.2026 has been enclosed as Annexure- B to the counter affidavit dated 13.04.2026.
39. It further reveals that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has taken note of suicide being committed in the various Colleges/Universities all across the country in Medical Colleges, Engineering Colleges and other institutions vide order dated 25 th July, 2025 in SLP (Crl) No. (s). 6378 of 2024.
40. So far as the merit of this case is concerned, the appellants are said to have assaulted the deceased-Raja Paswan i.e. the son of the Informant by fists and slaps.
41. However, the deceased has survived for some time and thereafter the deceased- Raja Paswan received telephonic call from other friends and Raja Paswan came outside the College campus i.e. BIT Mesra by scaling the wall and the co-accused- Sahil Ansari in Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 198 of 2025 and the co-accused Irfan Ansari in Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 269 of 2025 and twelve (12) other boys i.e. namely (i) Ekramul Ansari, 25 2026:JHHC:15277
(ii) Sehran Hussain (iii) Sahil Ansari (iv) Jabir Ansari (v)Sahbaj Anari (vi) Rijwan Ansari (vii) Raja Ansari (viii) Sami Ansari
(ix) Sahir Ansari (x) Danish Ansari (xi) Abdul Rakib (xii) Sohail Ansari had assaulted the deceased- Raja Paswan and due to which he died.
42. It further appears that the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.215 of 2026] is a student of 5rd Semester of B.I.T. MESRA, Ranchi and the appellant-Abhishek Kumar [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.258 of 2026] is also a student of 3rd Semester of Diploma in E.C. Branch at B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi.
43. It further reveals from the pleadings of the Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026 that out of nineteen (19) chargesheet witness, four (4) witnesses have been examined during trial so far.
44. It appears that the appellants are in custody since 23.11.2024 i.e. for around One (01) Year and Six (06) Months.
45. Considering the fact that this Court has rejected the bail of the appellants- Mausam Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar who had earlier filed Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 364 of 2025 vide order dated 12.08.2025 with the observation 'at this stage and the appellants are students of BIT, Mesra and on the facts and in the circumstances of this case, the appellant namely, Mausam Kumar Singh [Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 215 of 2026] and the appellant- Abhishek Kumar[Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 258 of 2026] are directed to be released on bail, on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.15,000/- (Rs. Fifteen Thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each, to the satisfaction of learned Additional Judicial Commissioner-II- cum-Special Judge, SC/ST Act, Ranchi/ or his Successor Court in connection with Sadar (Mesra) P.S. Case No.495 of 2024, 26 2026:JHHC:15277 subject to the condition that one of the bailors must be the own relative of the appellants and the appellants shall also file Undertaking before the learned Court below that they will not get indulged in such type of crime in future again, otherwise prosecution will be at liberty to take steps for cancellation his bail and the appellants shall not tamper with the witnesses during trial and also subject to the condition that the appellants will deposit their respective passports, if any and they shall not leave the State of Jharkhand without prior permission of the learned Court below and if there is need for higher education, they will not leave the State of Jharkhand or Country without prior permission of the Civil Courts, Ranchi and his bailors shall submit their respective Aadhar Cards and their Mobile Numbers before the learned Trial Court below and they shall not change their Mobile Numbers till the conclusion of trial.
46. Thus, Cr. Appeal (S.J) No. 215 of 2026 and Cr. Appeal (S.J) No. 258 of 2026 are allowed with the direction mentioned above.
47. State is directed to file compliance report in the 1st Week of July, 2026, which has been filed in the counter affidavit dated 13.04.2026, after seeking necessary approval from the Cabinet.
48. Let the copy of this order be given to the learned counsel for the State for the needful.
(Sanjay Prasad, J.) Dated 13.05.2026 Kamlesh/ 27