Sandip Saha v. State Of West Bengal

23-09-2021 (ct. no.32) KOLE CRM 4167 of 2021 In re: An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with English Bazar Women Police Station Case No. 152 of 2017 dated 24.07.2017 under Sections 6/14 of the POCSO Act. - A n d - In the matter of : Sandip Saha .... Petitioner.

Mr. A. Karmakar, Mr. A. K. Bhowmick, ... For the Petitioner.

Mr. A. Mitra, ... For the State.

The petitioner says that he has no role to play in the alleged offence. He has been in custody for one year seven months. The trial has just started. It is anybody's guess when the trial would conclude.

We have seen the material in the case diary including the statement of the victim girl, about 15 years of age at the time of the incident, recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. She vividly describes the heinous incident. She specifically implicates the petitioner along with other persons. On an overall assessment of the material on record and the nature and gravity of the charge, we are not inclined to entertain the petitioner's prayer for bail, at this stage. Accordingly, the application for bail being CRM 4167 of 2021 is dismissed.

However, since the petitioner has been in custody for quite sometime, we request the learned trial court to expedite the trial to

the extent possible and bring the same to its logical conclusion as soon as the business of the court may permit. ( Bivas Pattanayak, J. ) ( Arijit Banerjee, J. )