Debasish Roy v. State (U.T. Of Andaman And Nicobar Islands)
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
[ CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR ] *** CRM(M)/1/2026 Debasish Roy Vs.
State (U.T. of Andaman and Nicobar Islands) Mr. D.C.Kabir, Sr. Adv.
Mr. S. Ajith Prasad ... for the petitioner Mr. Sumit Kr. Karmakar ... for the State March 17, 2026 [SR] Item No.1 Learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is in custody since he was arrested on 29th March, 2019. Initially the charge sheet was submitted under sections 302/397/201/34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Subsequently, three supplementary charge sheets were filed by the Investigating Agency.
It has been contended by the learned advocate appearing for the petitioner that till date, the learned Trial Court did not take cognizance in respect of the charge sheets wherein charges were alleged against the petitioner for commission of the offence under the provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
There are 42 witnesses to be examined in respect of four charge sheets filed by the Investigating Agency. Admitted position as contended on behalf of the petitioner as well as the State is that 19 witnesses have been examined and the last witness has been examined on February 03, 2026.
Learned advocate appearing for the State, Mr. Sumit Kr. Karmakar, opposes the prayer for bail and submits that offence complained of is a heinous offence.
The petitioner's participation in the alleged offence is supported by overwhelming evidence and the witnesses whoever are left, are formal in nature and all efforts would be taken by the prosecution to conclude the trial within a period of six months. I have taken into account the submissions in respect of the parties and I find that only 19 witnesses have been examined by the prosecution out of the cited 42 witnesses in the charge sheets.
The offence even if it is accepted to be a heinous in nature, it is the duty of the prosecution also to expedite the process of trial.
Almost seven years is reaching on 29th March, 2026. As such, having considered the period of detention of the present petitioner and without commenting on the merits of the case , I am of the view that there is no possibility of trial being concluded in near future. As such, the petitioner should be released on bail.
Accordingly, the prayer for bail of the petitioner is allowed.
The petitioner namely, Debasish Roy 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 Chief Judicial Magistrate, Port Blair.
If on bail, the petitioner shall, once in a fortnight, attend the Aberdeen Police Station till the completion of the trial. The Station House Officer will depute an officer of his choice for acknowledgement in respect of the attendance of the present petitioner. Further the petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the District of the South Andaman without prior permission of the learned Trial Court.
If there is any violation of the conditions particularly with regard to creating impediment in the progress of trial after being released on bail or not attending the police station, the learned Trial Court would be at liberty to cancel the bail without any further reference to this Court. With the above observations, CRM(M)/1/2026 is disposed of.
All parties shall act in terms of server copy of the order downloaded from the official website of this Court. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities.
( Tirthankar Ghosh, J. )