Bihar & Jharkhand's law journal

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Research the way the journal reads.

Find the case, read the headnote, check whether it still stands. Every summary is labelled as one and linked back to the court’s own text.

I

Find the case in seconds — by any detail you remember

Search the full text or by party name, look up a citation, or search by Act and section. Filter by journal, year, subject and disposition, and see the matching passage highlighted.

Search within results — add words to narrow a long list, step by step
Binding on me — tell us your court and bench once; judgments binding on you are marked, and you can show only those
Print edition only — limit results to cases reported in the PLJR / JLJR print edition

498-A arrest Section 41 CrPCSearch

Supreme CourtPatna HCJharkhand HCCriminal2010–2026

498-A arrest Section 41 CrPC›checklist+ search within

Supreme Court2014(3) PLJR (SC) 314Binding

Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar & Anr.

…the fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence… the simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision…

HeadnoteSmart ViewOpen →

II

Know what a judgment holds before you read all of it

The journal’s headnotes sit above the full text of reported cases. Smart View lays a judgment out in labelled sections — Facts, Issues, Arguments, Reasoning, Ratio and Decision — so you see its shape first. Each section is marked as a summary; the judgment itself is one tab away, exactly as reported.

Full judgment shown as stored, with the court’s own paragraph numbers
Cite a passage — select text to copy the citation with its paragraph pinpoint, or the quotation with its citation
Save PDF — a clean single-column PDF of the judgment to file or print

III

Never cite a dead case again

Later treatment is listed with each judgment — followed, relied upon, distinguished, explained, doubted, overruled. A status line above the judgment tells you at once if it was overruled, held per incuriam, doubted or referred to a larger Bench, with links to those judgments.

Red is kept for overruled — the banner names the judgment that displaced it
Possible Conflicts on a point are flagged, with a link to see them in PLJR Matrix
Built from the Digest, the judgments’ own text and editorial review — not guessed by AI

IV

Argument Lab: your facts in, your authorities out

Describe the matter in plain words, the way a client tells it. Choose the area of law and whether to search all journals, PLJR or JLJR. Argument Lab finds the precedents that match and sets out, for each one, what helps you and what the other side will say.

For your side and Opponent will argue — both sides’ points from each precedent, so nothing surprises you in court
The ratio of each precedent, with every case linked to its full judgment
Ready examples to start from: quashing, anticipatory bail, service regularisation

Case profile

Apprehending arrest in an FIR registered at PS Kotwali, Patna u/s 318(4) BNS, my client seeks anticipatory bail. The dispute is essentially civil…

CriminalAll journalsAnalyse · build my case

Supreme Court2020(1) PLJR (SC) 524

Sushila Aggarwal & Ors. v. State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr.

For your sideAnticipatory bail — no time limit

Anticipatory bail should not be limited to a fixed period and should continue until the end of the trial.

Opponent will argueAnticipatory bail — limited duration

It should be limited to a fixed period, so that the accused surrenders before the trial court and seeks regular bail.

Illustration · points from the judgment’s Smart View

V

PLJR Matrix: see where every judgment went

Follow a case from the Single Bench to the Division Bench and the Supreme Court. Each step says whether the higher court upheld, set aside or partly changed the judgment below, and the net result tells you which decision finally stands.

Patna High Court, Jharkhand High Court and the Supreme Court
Citation tree — the judgments a case relied on, followed, distinguished or overruled, and the later judgments that did the same to it
Browse Full Bench and landmark collections, appeal outcomes and later treatment

VI

Topic-wise Read: the Digest, opened up

Every subject in the PLJR and JLJR Digests, from 1968 to date, in one A–Z index. Read a subject the way the Digest sets it out, newest first, with every case linked to the full judgment.

Subjects and Acts broken into sub-headings and sections, as in the printed Digest
Search the Digest text, set a year range, and share the exact view by link
Case-law Guides for each heading: leading cases, latest cases, cases since overruled or doubted, and old law to new law

Limitation Act, 1963 › Section 5

Section 5209Section 335Article 6535Section 1421Article 13719

Section 5—condonation of delay—application is vague, and crucial dates have been omitted—sufficient cause has not been shown to condone the delay of 193 days in instituting LPA—application dismissed.

State of Jharkhand vs. Yogendra Kumar Pandit, 2026(1) JLJR 462

Section 5—condonation of delay—principles—the Court is required to consider the sufficient cause for condonation of delay as also the approach of the litigant as to whether it is bona fide or not…

State of Jharkhand vs. Shakila Khatoon, 2026(1) JLJR 312

VII

Bare Acts that lead straight to the case law

Central Acts and Bihar and Jharkhand State Acts, section by section, with a contents list you can jump through. From any section, find the judgments that cite it, or follow it for new ones.

Official gazette / India Code PDF alongside the text, where available; Hindi official texts are marked
Rules & Notifications listed under the parent Act
Act-wise search — combine up to five Acts and their sections with AND / OR

Bare ActLimitation Act, 1963

Section 3Section 4Section 5Section 6Section 12Section 14Section 15

5. Extension of prescribed period in certain cases

Any appeal or any application, other than an application under any of the provisions of Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, may be admitted after the prescribed period, if the appellant or the applicant satisfies the court that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal or making the application within such period.

+ BriefcaseGet alerts for this sectionFind judgments citing →

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Case-law Guides

A ready brief on any Digest heading or provision.

Leading cases (Supreme Court first, then larger Benches), the latest cases, cases since overruled or doubted, and the old-law to new-law provision — each with its Digest paragraph, and a print layout.

References to a larger Bench

Know when a point is pending before a larger Bench.

Questions a bench has referred to a Full or larger Bench, with the referring judgment and, where traced, the judgment that answers it.

Citation lookup

Have a citation? Open the case.

Look up a judgment by journal, year, volume and page, or paste several citations at once.

Legal Dictionary & maxims

Words and phrases as the courts have defined them.

Definitions and maxims drawn from High Court and Supreme Court judgments, each with the citation to quote.

Interpretation of Statutes

How a provision has been read by the courts.

Judicial interpretation of statutory provisions, by Act and section, plus the general canons of construction.

Legal Updates

New Acts, amendments, court rules and circulars for Bihar and Jharkhand, in one place.

New Acts, Amendment Acts, Ordinances and notifications from the e-Gazettes and India Code, plus the Patna and Jharkhand High Courts' rules, practice directions and circulars — important ones first, with the official copies.

Alerts & What's new

New judgments come to you.

Follow a search, an Act or section, a judge or a subject. Fresh judgments on what you follow appear in What's new.

Briefcases

One file per matter, ready for the hearing.

Facts, issues, prayer and strategy, with the cases, sections, notes and quotations you collect — and an “Authorities relied upon” list to print or copy.

Also from us · VakilDraft

Draft the petition. Cite only what is on the record.

VakilDraft is our drafting companion for advocates. Pick the draft, enter the facts, and download an editable Word file set out in court format — with authorities taken from reported judgments, quoted word for word and linked to their source.

40 drafts in nine practice areas — bail, writ, LPA, matrimonial, cheque bounce, notices and more — plus conveyancing deeds.
English or Hindi, with the court and seat chosen up front.
Bare Act text from the Act itself. An authority that cannot be verified is left as a marked gap for you to fill, never invented.
Case diary, clients and fees, with next dates from the court for Jharkhand High Court cases and Patna High Court cases with a CNR.

Visit vakildraft.com

A separate product with its own sign-in and plans. You can start free.

WBail petition.docx

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Criminal Miscellaneous No. ______ of 2026

Arising out of P.S. Case No. [gap]

[Petitioner]… Petitioner

Versus

The State of Bihar… Opposite Party

PETITION FOR GRANT OF REGULAR BAIL

1. That the petitioner has been in custody since [date] and the charge-sheet has been submitted.

2. That the offence alleged is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, and the necessity of arrest is governed by Section 35 BNSS (formerly Section 41 CrPC), as held in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014(3) PLJR (SC) 314Verified · source linked

3. That …

Illustration

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Calculators for daily practice.

Limitation calculatorLast date to file a suit, appeal or applicationOpen MACT compensationMotor accident claim computationOpen Set-off & undertrial custodyCustody already undergone, against sentenceOpen NDPS quantitySmall, intermediate or commercial quantityOpen Old law → new lawIPC, CrPC and Evidence Act to BNS, BNSS and BSAOpen

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Bihar & Jharkhand’s law journal — now online.

From the Bar

Research the way the journal reads.

Find the case in seconds — by any detail you remember

Know what a judgment holds before you read all of it

Never cite a dead case again

Argument Lab: your facts in, your authorities out

PLJR Matrix: see where every judgment went

Topic-wise Read: the Digest, opened up

Bare Acts that lead straight to the case law

More in the library

Case-law Guides

References to a larger Bench

Citation lookup

Legal Dictionary & maxims

Interpretation of Statutes

Legal Updates

Alerts & What's new

Briefcases

PLJR on WhatsApp. Ask from the court corridor.

Draft the petition. Cite only what is on the record.

From client brief to courtroom — in three steps.

Search

Analyse

Prepare

Calculators for daily practice.

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Bihar’s No. 1 law journal — since 1968.

The journal you cite, wherever you are.