New Delhi: The Supreme Court has set aside three bail orders passed by the Patna High Court in a Bihar murder case, holding that reasons form the backbone of judicial decisions and that a court deciding bail must independently assess the material on record instead of merely recording the parties' submissions, LawBeat reported.
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu found that the high court had failed to consider video footage of the incident and statements of witnesses recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure who had identified the accused after being shown the footage. Failure to consider such crucial evidence renders a bail order unsustainable and requires a fresh review, the Bench said, according to LawBeat.
The appeals were filed by Nagendra Ray, whose son Chandan Ram was allegedly shot dead in May 2024. The prosecution alleges — these are allegations, not findings — that a group surrounded the victims at Bhikhari Chowk in Saran district, that Ramakant Solanki allegedly shot Chandan Ram in the chest and that Ram Pratap Singh allegedly shot another man in the head. Ray challenged the high court's orders granting anticipatory bail to Kamakhya Singh and regular bail to Ram Pratap Singh and Ramakant Solanki, LawBeat reported.
"Merely recording the submissions of the parties without any independent assessment of such submissions is not a proper approach while dealing with applications for bail... Importantly, it is 'the reasons' which form the backbone of all judicial decisions," the Bench said. The matters have been sent back to the Patna High Court for fresh consideration, and the three accused will remain on interim bail, on the high court's existing terms, until the roster bench decides their applications after hearing the accused, the complainant and the police, according to the report.
The Supreme Court clarified that its observations will not be treated as findings on the merits of the case. The judgment in Nagendra Ray v. State of Bihar was delivered on October 16, 2026, Wansom's summary of the ruling noted.
Source: Wansom AI brief — Supreme Court sets aside Patna HC bail orders in Bihar murder case