No Requirement Of Further Custodial Interrogation: Calcutta HC Grants Bail To DYFI Leader Kalatan Dasgupta
|The Calcutta High Court granted bail to Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) Leader Kalatan Dasgupta in a case involving conspiracy to attack persons protesting R.G. Kar Medical College female doctor’s rape case.
DYF leader had filed a petition challenging his arrest for the offences under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), including Sections 224, 352, 353(a)(b)(2), 351(2), 196, and 61.
A Single Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj said, “The petitioner is already in custody on and from 14th September, 2024 and the police authorities have recorded his statements under section 180 of BNSS, 2023. Therefore, this Court is of the opinion that there is no requirement of any further custodial interrogation of the charges levelled against the petitioner.”
The Bench noted that evidently, the arrest and detention of the accused was not carefully scrutinized to avoid unnecessary infringement on personal liberty.
Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya appeared on behalf of the petitioner/accused while Advocate General (AG) Kishore Datta appeared on behalf of the respondents.
In this case, the senior counsel for the petitioner-accused submitted that the accused was wrongfully implicated in a politically motivated criminal case. It was submitted that the accused had actively participated in peaceful demonstrations opposing the State authorities’ failure to ensure workplace safety for women. Such protest had gained momentum after the tragic rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. It was further submitted that, along with other members of civil society, the accused led the movement, demanding justice for the victim and transparency in the investigation. The investigation was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by an order of the High Court.
On September 13, 2024, at approximately 14:15 hours, Sub-Inspector of the Electronic Complex Police Station received an information that one Sanjib Das had spoken to the petitioner, Kalatan Dasgupta over the phone about organizing a violent attack at Swastha Bhawan, Salt Lake, Sector V, Kolkata, where protests were taking place. The alleged attack included plans to target public servants, specifically doctors and based on this information, call diary records were retrieved, and a pen drive containing the conversation and its transcript was obtained. Subsequently, a case was registered against both, one Sanjib Das and the petitioner-accused. Hence, he assailed the actions of the respondent authorities in effectuating his arrest in blatant disregard of procedural safeguards, according to him.
The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case, observed, “The petitioner, with no prior criminal record and no significant risk of fleeing or tampering with evidence, has been in custody since 14th September, 2024. Given the absence of any further need for custodial interrogation and the relatively minor nature of the alleged offense, this Court finds it appropriate to grant bail, ensuring that due legal process is upheld while safeguarding the petitioner’s fundamental rights.”
The Court, therefore, directed that the accused be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 500/- with one surety of like amount, to the satisfaction of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.
“The respondent authorities are restrained from taking any coercive action against the petitioner in connection with the subject case where he has been arrested or any other case which has been or may be registered against him without the leave of the Court”, it further ordered.
Accordingly, the High Court granted bail to the accused and listed the case on November 18, 2024.
Cause Title- Kalatan Dasgupta v. The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Senior Advocates Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Advocates Sujit Mitra, Uday Sankar Chattopadhyay, Shanti Bhowmik, Faiyaz Ahmed Khan, Arup Bhattacharya, Samim Ahamed, Aitabha Ghosh, Maloy Bhattacharya, Tapas Maity, Siuddhartha Sankar Mondal, Rajit Lal Mitra, Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Sudipta Sengupta, Chandan Hussain, Upendra Kumar Roy, Prasanta Bishal, Arnab Sinha, Sattavick Majumder, Sakya Maity, Soumya Dasgupta, Nazibuddin Siddiqui, Arka Maiti, Firdous Samim, Saloni Bhattacharya, Gulsanwara Pervin, Arka Ranjan Bhattacharya, Sayan Banerjee, Enamul Islam, Ambiya Khatun, Debolina Sarkar, Gopa Biswas, Nabanita Chatterjee, Arpita Dhar, Aniket Sen, Arka Nandi, Amartya Basu, Arghya Banerjee, Anjana Mehboob, Anindita Roychowdhury, Arckajyoti Kundu, Satabdi Das, Pintu Karar, and Akash Deep Mukherjee.
Respondents: AG Kishore Datta, SSC Amitesh Banerjee, JSC Sirsanya Bandhopadhyay, Advocates Biswabrata Basu Mallick, and Debangshu Dinda.