68 24-02-2025 (ct. no. 29) KOLE Allowed CRM (DB) 215 of 2025 In re: An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure/Section 483 of the BNSS in connection with Thakurpukur Police Station Case No. 371 of 2012 dated 07.09.2012 under Sections 302/394/34 of the Indian Penal Code. - A n d - In the matter of : Rajesh Das @ Bijoy Das .... Petitioner. Mr. Sabir Ahmed, Mr. Dhiman Banerjee, Mr. Q. E. Ahmed, … For the Petitioner. Mrs. Faria Hossain, Mr. D. Dutta, … For the State. Order dictated by Arijit Banerjee, J.: 1. Status report filed by the State be kept with the records. 2. We find that out of 72 charge sheet named witnesses 45 witnesses have been examined. The State says that 5 more witnesses will be examined and examination of witnesses will be completed within the next two months. 3. We are shocked to see that the petitioner is in custody for more than 12 years 5 months. The prosecution may have an iron cast case against the petitioner. Nobody stands in the way of the prosecution to secure the conviction of the petitioner and punish him in accordance with law. However, no under-trial accused person can be indefinitely detained in judicial custody without taking the trial to its logical conclusion. 12 years 5 months is a shockingly long period of time to keep anybody in incarceration. 4. Although the State says that the examination of witnesses will be completed within two months, the same does not inspire 2 much confidence in our mind given the pace at which the trial has proceeded. 5. Without touching the merits of the case and solely on the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, we feel constrained to enlarge the petitioner on bail. 6. Accordingly, we direct that the petitioner, namely, Rajesh Das @ Bijoy Das, shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000/-, with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore, South 24 Parganas subject to condition that he shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing until further orders and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever and on further condition that the petitioner while on bail shall remain within the jurisdiction of the Alipore police station and shall meet the O.C of the said police station once in a week until further orders. 7. In the event the petitioner fails to adhere to any of the conditions stipulated above without justifiable cause, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel the petitioner’s bail in accordance with law without further reference to this court. 8. The application for bail is, accordingly, allowed. 9. All parties shall act in terms of server copy of the order downloaded from the official website of this Court. ( Apurba Sinha Ray, J. ) ( Arijit Banerjee, J. )