Public servant in custody for over 48 hours deemed suspended, says Supreme Court

PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court has said that a government employee is automatically treated as suspended if they are arrested and remain in judicial custody for more than 48 hours.

The court made this observation while restoring the bail of Vishwajeet Singh, an administrator at a government hospital in Bihar. He is accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 4,000 to clear a contractual worker's pending wages of Rs 36,421.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manmohan cancelled a Patna High Court order that had revoked Singh's bail, which had been granted by a sessions court nearly a year earlier.

The Supreme Court said the amount of the alleged bribe should not be a factor while deciding whether to grant bail. It added that the High Court could have criticised the sessions court for calling the alleged bribe amount small, but there was no need to cancel the bail on that basis.

While restoring his bail, the Supreme Court also raised concerns about Singh's suspension and his later posting at the same hospital. The order was passed on November 6. Justice Pardiwala said Singh had remained in judicial custody for nearly 15 days after his arrest.

The judge said that under the rules, a public servant is automatically treated as suspended after remaining in judicial custody for more than 48 hours. No separate suspension order is needed for this. The bench noted that Singh had initially been suspended, but the suspension was later revoked. It expressed concern that he was then posted back at the same hospital in the same position.

The court called this a "disturbing feature" and asked the Bihar government to examine the matter at the earliest and take action according to the law.

Singh had challenged a July 1, 2026, Patna High Court order. The High Court had accepted the complainant's plea, cancelled Singh's regular bail and ordered that he be taken into custody. According to the case records, an FIR was registered against Singh in 2025 at the Vigilance police station under Section 7(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

At the time, Singh was working as the administrator of Sadar Hospital in Samastipur. He was accused of demanding Rs 4,000 to release the complainant's pending wages of Rs 36,421.

After his arrest, a sessions court granted him bail. The complainant challenged this decision in the Patna High Court, which later cancelled his bail. The Supreme Court noted that the High Court had intervened nearly a year after Singh was released.

The Supreme Court said bail should generally be granted in such cases, keeping in mind the maximum punishment the accused could face if found guilty. However, bail may be denied if the accused has a criminal record or the case involves particularly serious circumstances.

The court restored Singh's bail and repeated that a public servant is automatically suspended if they remain in judicial custody for more than 48 hours. It also asked the Bihar government to review his return to the same post at the same hospital in accordance with the law.