12.02.2025 Item no.08. Court No.29. S. De (Allowed) CRM (DB) No. 502 of 2025 In Re: An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure corresponding to Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection with Chapra Police Station Case No. 188 of 2017 and 14.07.2017 under Sections 341/326/307/302/34 of the Indian Penal Code. And In the matter of : Sankar Biswas. ……Petitioner. Mr. Debabrata Roy, Ms. Karabi Roy, ……for the Petitioner. Mr. Debasish Roy, Ld. P.P., Mr. Arijit Gangully, Mr. Koushik Kundu, ……for the State Dictated by Arijit Banerjee, J. 1. Report filed by the State be kept with the records. 2. We see that the petitioner is in custody for seven and half years. 3. The prosecution says that 10 witnesses have been examined and 4 more witnesses will be examined. Witness action is expected to conclude within 3 months from the next date fixed which is March 7, 2025. Learned counsel says that there is very strong evidence against this petitioner. 4. Learned advocate for the petitioner points out that the Trial Court is lying vacant. Other accused persons, more or less similarly circumstanced, have been granted bail by this Court by an order dated Signed By : SANDIP DE High Court of Calcutta 14 th of February 2025 09:35:06 AM 2 January 27, 2025, passed in CRM (DB) 4108 of 2024. 5. We have considered the facts and circumstances of the case. It does appear that this petitioner stands on more or less the same footing as other accused persons who were enlarged on bail on January 27, 2025, solely on the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The same consideration would apply with greater force to this petitioner who is in judicial custody for a period of seven and half years. Going by the pace, at which the trial has progressed, we are not very hopeful that the trial is going to conclude on an early date, particularly, noting that the Trial Court is lying vacant. Hence, we are inclined to allow the petitioner’s prayer for bail, and we do so. 6. Accordingly, we direct that the petitioner, namely, Sankar Biswas 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 Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nadia, Krishnanagar, subject to condition that the petitioner shall appear before the Trial Court on each and every date of substantive hearing subject to the provisions of Section 317 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/Section 355 of Signed By : SANDIP DE High Court of Calcutta 14 th of February 2025 09:35:06 AM 3 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and shall not intimidate the witnesses and/or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever and on further condition that the petitioner, while on bail, shall remain within the territorial jurisdiction of Kotwali Police Station, Krishnagar, Nadia and shall furnish his present address to the Inspector-in- Charge of Kotwali Police Station, Krishnagar as well as to the learned Trial Court and shall also meet the Inspector-in-Charge of the Kotwali Police Station twice in a week, during office hours, 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.) Signed By : SANDIP DE High Court of Calcutta 14 th of February 2025 09:35:06 AM