Case Facts:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Miscellaneous No.17467 of 2012 ====================================================== Rajbi Devi @ Rajba Devi & Anr. .... .... Petitioners. Versus The State Of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party. ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH ORAL ORDER 2 10-05-2012 Heard learned counsels for the petitioners and the State. The petitioners are apprehending their arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under [STATUTE] and ¾ of the Prevention of Witch Practices Act. F.I.R. was lodged on the basis of fardbeyan of the victim since the petitioners and other accused persons used to call her witch hence she committed suicide by setting her on fire. Subsequently the husband of the deceased claimed that the petitioners have earlier assaulted the victim. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that husband of the deceased’s version has no relevancy since victim has not supported the version of husband in her subsequent statement as the victim never stated about petitioners assaulting her. Since petitioners are Panches of Gram Kachari, Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.17467 of 2012 (2) dt.10-05-2012 2 / 2 2 one Kari Devi lodged complaint against the informant of the present case with accusation that informant used to call her witch when notices were issued to informant but she did not appear when the matter was referred to the police hence petitioners have been falsely implicated as retaliatory measure. Considering the fact that the victim herself admitted that she committed suicide and as per version of the victim at best the petitioners were abettors since they were calling her witch which also gets clouded with the fact that the victim herself was made an accused in pursuance to complaint filed by other lady with similar accusation, let the petitioners, Rajbi Devi @ Rajba Devi and Laxman Pandit, be released on bail in the event of arrest or surrender before the learned court below within a period of twelve weeks from today in connection with Jamui P.S. Case No. 76 of 2012 on furnishing bail bond of Rs.10,000/-(Ten Thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned C.J.M. Jamui, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. U.K./- (Dinesh Kumar Singh, J)

Applicable IPC Section: 504

Statute Text:
Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code. Insult intended to provoke breach of the peace. Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.