Public servants in judicial custody over 48 hours automatically suspended:SC restores Bihar hospital administrator’s bail, overturns Patna HC verdict

The Supreme Court has made it clear that if a government official is arrested and remains in judicial custody (jail) for more than 48 hours, the official will automatically be deemed suspended. There is no need to issue a separate suspension order. A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Kumar said this in its order on 6 November. The case was related to a bribery case involving the hospital administrator in Samastipur, Bihar. Vishwajeet Singh is accused of demanding a ₹4,000 bribe from a contractual worker in exchange for releasing outstanding wages of ₹36,421. The court quashed the Patna High Court order cancelling his bail nearly a year later. Supreme Court’s remarks on cancellation of bail The Supreme Court said that the High Court could have commented on the matter, but should not have cancelled the bail. While restoring the bail, the Supreme Court also raised a serious issue concerning the accused’s service status and subsequent posting. In its order, the bench said, “There is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. It appears that after his arrest, the accused remained in judicial custody for around 15 days.” Justice Pardiwala said, “As Singh is a government employee, he could be deemed to have been automatically suspended. Surprisingly, he was reposted to the same post at the same hospital.” The court said the state should address this aspect at the earliest. The bench expressed hope that the state would take the necessary action in the matter in accordance with the law. Challenge to Patna High Court order The accused administrator, Singh, had challenged the Patna High Court’s 1 July order in the Supreme Court. The High Court had allowed the complainant’s petition. It had cancelled the regular bail granted by the Sessions Court and ordered Singh’s arrest. The Supreme Court said the High Court had interfered with the bail nearly a year after the accused was released. Its order suggested that a remark made by the Sessions Court had influenced the decision to cancel the bail. The Sessions Court had described the bribe amount as very small. According to the case records, an FIR was registered at the Vigilance police station in 2025. The FIR was registered under Section 7(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Singh was the administrator of the government Sadar Hospital in Samastipur when the alleged offence took place.