An Application For Bail Under ... vs Dilip Kumar Man @
2021 Latest Caselaw 5266 Cal

Sl.   September                                    C.R.A. 322 of 1991
16.    30, 2021

                  In the matter of : An application for bail under Section 389(1) of the
                  Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 filed under C.R.A.N. 3 of 2021 on
                  September 24, 2021;

                                                               And


                  In the matter of : Dilip Kumar Man @
                                     Naba Kumar Man                    ...appellant/petitioner.
                                                                           (in Jail custody)
                                                Versus

                                        State of West Bengal           ...respondent/

opposite party.

Mr. Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee, Mr. Apalak Basu, ...for the appellant/petitioner.

Mr. Rana Mukherjee, Ms. Sujata Das, Ms. Debjani Sahu, ...for the State.

This is an application for suspension of sentence and grant of

bail in connection with the appeal preferred by the petitioners against the judgment

and order of conviction and sentence passed by the learned Additional Sessions

Judge at Midnapore in Sessions Trial No. II of July, 1989.

The appellant was granted bail soon after the admission of the

appeal by a co-ordinate bench of this court on February 20, 1992. The said order

reads as follows :-

"let the accused appellant be released on bail to the satisfaction

of the ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, Midnapore, on condition

that the petitioner must report to the O.C. of Chandrakona P.S.

once every week on every Monday between 11 a.m. and 12

noon until further orders."

On April 8, 2011, the bail granted to the appellant was

cancelled since no one had appeared in support of the appeal when it was taken up

for hearing. In view thereof, the appellant was arrested and produced before the

Executive Magistrate at Ghatal on May 28, 2011. On June 24, 2011, when the

appeal was taken up for hearing, it was submitted on behalf of the appellant that an

application was taken out seeking bail of the appellant. The co-ordinate bench was

not inclined to release the appellant any further as the desire of the said bench was

to hear the appeal and on the prayer of the learned advocate for the appellant, the

matter was fixed for hearing on June 27, 2011. On that date, Mr. Abhijit Kumar

Chattopadhyay, learned advocate for the appellant, submitted that he had returned

the brief to the appellant and he had no further instruction in the matter. since then

the appellant is in custody.

On another occasion, that is, on August 17, 2016, a co-ordinate

bench of this court declined to suspend the sentence imposed upon the appellant

and expressed its desire to hear out the appeal on merits considering the fact that the

appellant was taken into custody sometime in May 2011. It appears from the record

that paper book was not readily available on June 27, 2011. However, the paper

book was made ready on August 17, 2016 and on that basis direction was passed by

the co-ordinate bench to hear out the appeal.

From the record it reveals that the appellant is languishing in

jail since May 2011 and was not represented by any lawyer. In view thereof, by an

order dated September 23, 2021, we appointed Mr. Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee,

learned advocate, to represent the appellant in this proceeding.

In view of the fact that the appellant was on bail before he was

convicted and a co-ordinate bench of this court had granted him bail pending

hearing of this appeal and having regard to the fact that there is no possibility of the

appeal being heard on merits shortly, and in the light of the principles enunciated by

the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Kashmira Singh vs. State of Punjab

reported in (1977) 4 S.C.C. 291 and in the case of Babu Singh vs. State Utar

Pradesh reported in (1978) 1 S.C.C. 579, we are inclined to suspend the sentence

imposed upon the appellant and release him on bail.

We, therefore, allow the prayer for suspension of sentence of

the petitioner and direct that the sentence imposed by the trial court upon the him

shall remain suspended till disposal of the appeal and the petitioner, namely, Dilip

Kumar Man @ Naba Kumar Man, shall be released on bail to the satisfaction of

the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Ghatal, Paschim

Medinipur, upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) only

with two sureties of like amount, one of whom must be local having landed

property in the village or town, on condition that he shall attend the officer in-

charge of Chandrakona police station once in a month until further order and shall

remain personally present before this court as and when the appeal would be taken

up for hearing.

We direct that the appeal is to be listed for hearing four weeks

after reopening of the court after puja vacation for the year 2021.

The application for bail filed under C.R.A.N. 3 of 2021 is, thus,

disposed of.

This order shall be immediately communicated to the Secretary,

High Court Legal Services Committee.

dns   ( Rabindranath Samanta, J. )                                          ( Soumen Sen, J. )