Debanshu Paul Chowdhury v. State Of West Bengal
07.05.2026 Serial no. 1 [CB] [G.S.D]
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI [FROM PRINCIPAL BENCH] CRM (M) 115 of 2026 In re : An Application for Bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023 in connection with Siliguri PS Case No. 98 of 2026 dated 21.02.2026 u/s 281/125(b)/106(1) of the BNS, 2023 with added sections 105/238 of the BNS, 2023 read with sections 132/187 of the MV Act, 1988 corresponding to PTN No. WBDJOEP00600 of 2026. -AndIn the matter of : Debanshu Paul Chowdhury ... Petitioner(s) Mr. Sayan De Mr. Sayan Kanjilal Mr. Kaustav Shome ... for the Petitioner(s) Mr. Amajit De Mr. Sagar Saha ... for the State-respondent(s) Mr. Akhil Biswas ... for the defacto-complainant(s) Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was arrested on 23rd February, 2026 and since then he is in custody.
Learned advocate further submits that there are no materials to substantiate that there was any previous enimity between the petitioner and the deceased. According to the learned advocate, the case made out is for reckless and negligent driving and consequential acts. Additionally, it has been submitted that on any stringent condition, the petitioner may be released on bail.
Learned advocate for the State opposes the prayer for bail and draws the attention of the court to the statement of another victim who was injured. Such statement was recorded before the learned Judicial Magistrate under section 183 of the BNSS.
The attention of the court has also been drawn to the statement of another witness which reflects that the petitioner attended a birthday party at around 00.10 hours. Learned advocate for the defacto-complainant opposes the prayer for bail and submits that the case is of cold blooded murder and the petitioner is an influential person who abducted the defacto-complainant for the purpose of obtaining statement and for withdrawal of the case.
I have taken into account the materials appearing in the case diary and I do not find any material which would support the contention of the defacto-complainant that the case is under section 103(1) of the BNS. However, the act of the accused is irresponsible and reckless driving resulting death of one person and injury to two other persons: one being a person who accompanied the deceased and, another - a Toto driver, who was sitting in the vehicle. It has been alleged that there are two General Diary Entries which would reflect that the defacto-complainant was subjected to coercion.
Learned advocate for the State further submits that the petitioner is an influential person of the area and by his conduct, he has already exposed himself for which steps have been taken by the police authorities.
I have taken into account the overall circumstances and the fact that primarily it reflects from the case diary that the investigation is complete except for the purpose of submitting the charge-sheet after collection of the expert's opinion relating to CCTV footages.
Having regard to the fact that the petitioner will not be able to influence the expert, I am of the view that further detention of the present petitioner is unwarranted in the facts and circumstances of the case Hence, the prayer for bail of the petitioner is Allowed.
Accordingly, the petitioner viz, Debanshu Paul Chowdhury shall be released on bail upon furnishing bond of Rs.20,000/-(Rupees Twenty Thousand only), with two sureties of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the learned ACJM, Siliguri.
If on bail, the petitioner shall meet with the Investigating Officer of the case once in a week till further orders of this court and/or until and unless waived by the learned jurisdictional court. The petitioner shall also not
leave the jurisdiction of Siliguri Police Station without prior permission of the Investigating Officer of the case. Accordingly, CRM (M) 115 of 2026 is allowed.
Memo of Evidence submitted by the State be kept with the record.
Parties to act on a server copy of this order duly collected from the official website of the Hon'ble High Court, Calcutta.
Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
(Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)