Manjeet Singh v. The State Of West Bengal

CIRCUIT BENCH OF CALCUTTA HIGH COURT AT JALPAIGURI 21.09.2021 Court No.01 rpan /42 C.R.M. 301 of 2021 In Re:- An application for anticipatory bail under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;

And In Re : Manjeet Singh - Petitioner.

Mr. Kunaljit Bhattacharjee, Mr. Abhishek Palit ... for the petitioner.

Mr. Nilay Chakraborty, Mr. Saikat Chatterjee ... for the State.

Apprehending arrest in connection with Siliguri Police Station Case No.645 of 2014 dated 08.12.2014 under Section 406/409 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the petitioner has filed the present application.

The learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that the allegation against the petitioner was that the provident fund contributions of the employees were not deposited by the petitioner, who is running a restaurant. He further submits that the amount was not deposited mistakenly. However, during pendency of the present application, the said amount of Rs.1,48,218/- had already been deposited, as would be explicit from the document annexed at page 13 of the application. In the said conspectus and since upon completion of investigation, charge-sheet has also been submitted, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not necessary.

The learned advocate appearing for the State opposes the petitioner's prayer. However, he does not dispute the fact that the dues have already been paid by the petitioner. Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties and considering the fact that the dues have already been paid and as it is not likely that the petitioner would delay the trial by abscondance, we are of the view that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not warranted in the facts and circumstances, more so when, upon completion of investigation, charge-sheet has also been submitted.

Accordingly, we direct that in the event of arrest, the petitioner Manjeet Singh 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 Arresting Officer and subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The application for anticipatory bail, being CRM 301 of 2021 is, thus, allowed.

All parties shall act on the server copies of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. (Abhijit Gangopadhyay, J.) (Tapabrata Chakraborty, J.)