The courtroom fell silent as the Bench read out its findings. What began as a routine criminal writ petition turned into a strong reminder of how easily personal liberty can be lost when procedure is ignored. On January 9, 2026, the Patna High Court ordered the immediate release of a minor who had been unlawfully arrested and jailed, and directed the State of Bihar to pay him ₹5 lakh as compensation for illegal detention.
Background of the Case
The petition was filed by Md. Jahid, a minor, through his guardian, seeking a writ of habeas corpus. His family alleged that the police had arrested him without lawful authority in connection with a village land dispute in Madhepura district.
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The case originated from Puraini Police Station Case No. 128 of 2025, lodged by a local resident following a clash during a village-level mediation meeting. Several people were named as accused, including the petitioner.
However, during investigation, the police found no sufficient material against ten of the named accused, Jahid included. A charge sheet was filed in September 2025 clearly showing him in the column of “not sent up for trial.”
Despite this, about a month later, Jahid was arrested from his home and sent to jail.
Court’s Scrutiny of Police Action
The Division Bench comprising Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Ritesh Kumar closely examined the case diary and even interacted directly with the Investigating Officer in open court.
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The judges found that the arrest was triggered solely by a “supervision note” issued by a senior police officer, after the informant complained that some accused had been wrongly spared. No fresh evidence was collected. No permission for further investigation was sought from the Magistrate, even though the charge sheet had already been filed.
“The investigating officer proceeded to arrest the petitioner without any cogent material and without following the established procedure of law,” the Bench observed.
Failure to Protect a Juvenile
During the hearing, it also emerged that Jahid was a juvenile. His school records showed his date of birth as January 1, 2010. Yet, at the time of arrest and remand, he was treated as an adult and sent to jail.
The Court noted with concern that even the Magistrate failed to verify his age before authorising custody. Later, the Juvenile Justice Board confirmed that Jahid was just over 15 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
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“This was a complete breach of the Juvenile Justice law,” the judges remarked, adding that a child should never have been kept in jail with adult prisoners.
Violation of Fundamental Rights
Calling the arrest “unlawful,” the High Court held that Jahid’s fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution had been violated.
“The direction to proceed by assuming allegations to be true runs contrary to the basic principle of presumption of innocence,” the Court said.
The Bench also relied on past Supreme Court rulings to underline that constitutional courts are empowered to award monetary compensation when State action results in illegal detention.
Court’s Decision
Bringing the hearing to a close, the High Court passed a series of firm directions:
- The petitioner was ordered to be released immediately from the observation home.
- The State of Bihar was directed to pay ₹5,00,000 as compensation within one month for the mental and physical trauma suffered during over two and a half months of unlawful custody.
- An additional ₹15,000 was awarded as litigation cost.
- The Director General of Police, Bihar, was directed to initiate an administrative inquiry and recover the compensation amount from the erring officials after due process.
With these directions, the writ petition was allowed, marking a strong judicial response to misuse of police power and failure of institutional safeguards.
Case Title: Md. Jahid (Minor) v. State of Bihar & Ors.
Case Number: Criminal Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3077 of 2025
Date of Judgment: 9 January 2026
