Rakshid Alam v. The State Of West Bengal

CIRCUIT BENCH OF CALCUTTA HIGH COURT AT JALPAIGURI 23.09.2021 Court No.01 rpan /25 C.R.M. 566 of 2021 In Re:- An application for anticipatory bail under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;

And In Re : Rakshid Alam - Petitioner.

with CRAN 1 of 2021 Ms. Suman Sehenabis (Mondal), Ms. Arpita Saha ... for the petitioner.

Mr. Ujjwal Luksom, Mr. Tapan Bhattacharjee ... for the State.

Apprehending arrest in connection with Pundibari Police Station Case No.81 of 2021 dated 16.02.2021 under Sections 376(n)/406/325 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the petitioner has preferred the present application.

The learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that allegations levelled against the petitioner are unfounded. The complaint was lodged by the de facto complainant after the petitioner entered into a marriage with another lady. The said marriage was solemnized on 16th November, 2020 and the complaint was lodged about three months thereafter on 16th February, 2021. The ingredient of Section 376(n) does not stand satisfied. In the said conspectus, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not necessary. Mr. Bhattacharjee, learned advocate appearing for the State opposes the petitioner's prayer and draws our attention to several documents in the case diary, including the medical reports and the

statement of the de facto complainant, as recorded under Section 164 of the Code.

Prima facie, in view of the age of the de facto complainant, it cannot be ruled out that she was totally unaware of the consequences of her relationship with the petitioner. Considering the nature of accusations and the extent of complicity, we are of the opinion that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case.

Accordingly, we direct that in the event of arrest, the petitioner Rakshid Alam 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 and on a further condition that he shall meet with the investigating officer of the case once in a week on and from 29th September, 2021 until further orders.

The application for anticipatory bail, being CRM 566 of 2021 and the connected application, being CRAN 1 of 2021 are, thus, disposed of.

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.)