IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.32838 of 2009 1. VIJAY SHANKAR, S/o Late Kusumkant Singh, resident of Baikathpur, P.S. Khushrupur, District Patna 2. Ashok Kumar Singh, S/o Sri Chandeshwar Singh, resident of Baikathpur, P.S. Khushrupur, District Patna 3. Ashish Kumar Sharma @ Ashish Kumar, son of Sri Harish Chandra Sharma, resident of Ratnawati Vidya Mandir Lane, Exhibition Road, P.S. Gandhi Maidan, Town and District Patna Versus STATE OF BIHAR ----------- 2. 8.9.2009 Heard Mrs. Parul Ranjan, counsel for the petitioner and the counsel for the State. The petitioners are in custody since 5.8.2009 in connection with offences under Section 448, 353, 332, 504 and 506/34 I.P.C. Strictly speaking an aspirant contractor could not have taken the law in his own hand even if his tender paper was not accepted on a date fixed for depositing tender papers and opening of the bids. It is however the case of petitioner no.1 that when he went alongwith rest of the two petitioners, his alleged employees, to submit his tender paper, the concerned Executive Engineer refused to accept it on the ground that the prescribed time was over. According to the petitioners, 2 the Executive Engineer had closed acceptance of tender paper some 15 minutes earlier before the prescribed time. Two things in this context are important, namely, whether petitioner no.1 had purchased any tender paper so that he was prejudiced on account of closure of the tender before prescribed time. Secondly, whether petitioners no. 2 and 3 were actually his employees. This Court, therefore, would direct the court below to verify the fact with regard to petitioner no.1 being a registered contractor and also to have purchased the tender paper which was said to have not accepted on account of alleged highhandedness on the part of the concerned engineer. If he would find that petitioner no.1 was a registered contractor and had purchased tender paper for the bid in question, he would release petitioner no.1 Vijay Shankar on bail on his furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rs. Ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna in Shastri Nagar P.S.Case 3 No. 297/2009, subject to petitioner no.1 having got no criminal antecedent. As with regard to petitioners no. 2 and 2, namely, Ashok Kumar Singh and Ashish Kumar Sharma @ Ashish Kumar, the court below shall release them on bail on their furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rs. Ten thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna in the said case, again after verifying that they have got no criminal antecedent and they were actually employee of petitioner no.1. In case the petitioners or anyone of them are not released on bail in course of verification by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna they would be at liberty to renew their prayer for bail before this court on completing judicial custody for a period of six months. (Mihir Kumar Jha,J.) Surendra/