In an extraordinary display of judicial compassion, a special CBI court in Patna delivered its verdict on a public road, bringing a 15-year-old bank fraud case to its conclusion for a bedridden nonagenarian who was unable to enter the courtroom.
The unusual proceedings took place outside the Patna civil courts when Special Judge Avinash Kumar was informed that the accused, 95-year-old Jai Narayan Singh, was too frail to walk and remained immobile inside a vehicle. Unable to take even a single step toward the courtroom, Singh’s condition prompted the judge to conduct the hearing at the roadside.
For nearly 35 minutes, the road leading to the court complex functioned as a temporary courtroom. The matter was heard from outside the vehicle, where Singh, barely able to move his legs, remained seated with folded hands, admitted his guilt, and sought the court’s amnesty.
The case had been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2011 and related to an alleged conspiracy involving fake borrowers and UCO Bank employees accused of siphoning public funds through agricultural loan schemes in Bihar’s Jamui district. Singh was accused of fraudulently securing about ₹4 lakh for the purchase of a tractor using forged documents around 15 years ago.
The roadside proceedings marked a rare instance of the judicial process adapting to the physical limitations of an accused, underscoring an exceptional moment of procedural compassion.
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