Pratima Mondal And ANR. v. State Of West Bengal

AD 37 January 6, 2026 Ct. 28 SG CRM(A) 4129 of 2025 Allowed An application for anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection with Raghunathganj P.S. Case No.942 of 2025 dated 23.07.2025 under Sections 80/3(5) of the BNS, Sections 9/10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and Section 4 of the D.P. Act.

And In the matter of:

Pratima Mondal and another ... petitioners Mr. Jisan Iqubal Hossain ... for the petitioners Mr. Partha Pratim Das Mr. Dipankar Paramanick ... for the State Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners are the parents-in-law of the alleged victim. The principal accused being the husband was arrested and has thereafter been granted bail.

Learned counsel for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail and relies on the FIR, the Surathal Report, the post-mortem report and the statements of witnesses including those of the parents. He submits that although no suicidal note has been recorded by the hospital or by the police, the father of the victim claimed in his statement that the victim had made a verbal dying declaration to him, implicating the accused. It appears from the Surathal Report that the victim girl had eloped twice with the person whom he ultimately married.

Considering the above, the fact that the principal accused being the husband was arrested and thereafter granted bail, the alleged role ascribed to the present petitioners and the fact that charge-sheet has been submitted, I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioners.

In the event of arrest, the petitioners shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/- (rupees ten thousand) each with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer and also be subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 corresponding to Section 482(2) of the BNSS, 2023 and on the further conditions that the petitioners shall surrender before the jurisdictional court within four weeks from this date, shall attend the jurisdictional court regularly and shall not threaten or intimidate witnesses.

The application for anticipatory bail is, thus, allowed. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance of requisite formalities.

(Jay Sengupta, J.)