Swapan Kumar Nayek v. State Of West Bengal
23.03.2026 Ct. No. 237 Sl. No.12 skg CRM (M) - 419 of 2026 With CRAN 1 of 2026 In Re: An Application under Section 483(1)(b) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for relaxation and/or modification and/or waiver of the conditions of bail. in connection with Egra Police Station Case No. 882 of 2025 dated 20.12.2025 under Sections 409/420/468 IPC pending before the Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Contai, Purba Medinipur.
And In Re :
Swapan Kumar Nayek ...petitioner Mr. Rajdeep Mazumder, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Pritam Roy, Ms. Priparna Roy, Mr. Soumya Raha, .....for the petitioner Mr. Debasish Roy, Ld. P.P., Mr. Rudradipta Nandy, Ld. APP, Mr. S.S. Imam, Ms. Rajnandini Das, Mr. Akash Ganguly, ...for the State Re.: CRAN 1 of 2026 This is an application seeking relaxation of a condition imposed by this Court on March 17, 2026, while granting bail to the petitioner.
Mr. Rajdeep Mazumder, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioner, has, by referring to a letter dated March 19, 2026, issued by the Executive Officer to the Principal Secretary, drawn the attention of this Court to
the contents thereof. The relevant portion of the said communication is reproduced below:
"With deep anxiety and agony, I beg to state that Egra Municipality is going in the midst of dark phase due to certain unpredictable situations in the absence of Sri Swapan Kumar Nayak, the existing Chairman of the municipality since 22.12.25.
The regular civil services, eg.:-
1. Issuance of Birth & Death Certificate,
2. Tender negotiations
3. Payment of Salary of employees, Pension for retired persons, wages of Nirmal Bondhu & Nirmal Sathi, casual workers, Health Staff, etc.
4. Issuance of Building Permissions
5. Issuing work orders etc, which are absolutely under the control of the Chairman are being stopped due to Non-Officiating of the Chairman.
The situation is so grave that two months'
salary, Pension and wages cannot be disbursed towards the employees of the municipality due to absence of Signatory Authority. In this scenario, I do this Stale mate situation bringing a healthy atmosphere of the municipality.
Thanking you,"
It has been submitted by Mr. Mazumder that the condition should be suitably relaxed so as to ensure that the functioning of the Municipality is not impeded in the absence of the petitioner. This prayer for relaxation is,
however, strongly contested by the learned Advocate appearing for the State, who submits that the investigation is still ongoing. It is further argued that allowing the petitioner access to the Municipality office during the pendency of the investigation could create a risk of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. The apprehension expressed by the State cannot be dismissed entirely.
At the same time, the difficulties encountered by the Municipality in its day-to-day functioning, as reflected in the order dated March 17, 2026, must also be taken into consideration. In order to strike an appropriate balance between these competing concerns, the conditions imposed in the order dated March 17, 2026, are hereby modified as follows:
The petitioner shall be permitted to attend the Municipality office from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., three days a week.
The petitioner must provide the Sub-Divisional Officer, Egra, with at least 24 hours' prior notice of his intended attendance.
The Sub-Divisional Officer shall depute a competent officer to supervise the petitioner's presence in the Municipality office to ensure that no evidence is tampered with and no witness is influenced.
Accordingly, CRAN 1 of 2026 is disposed of.
There shall be no order as to costs.
Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties on usual undertaking. (Kausik Chanda, J.)