Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
An Application For Bail Under Section ... vs In Re:- Jayanta Prasad Chatterjee on 4 May, 2017
Author: Ashim Kumar Roy
Bench: Ashim Kumar Roy
1
17
04.05.2017
sm
Allowed
CRM No.3779 of 2017
In the matter of an application for bail under Section 439 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 02.05.2017 in connection with
Bhawanipore Police Station Case No.141 of 2016 dated 27.04.2016
under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code and adding sections
120B/201/363/365/366A/370A/370(5)/376/419/420 and sections 80,
81 and 84 of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children
Act, 2015 and sections 4 and 17 of the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act.
.
And In Re:- Jayanta Prasad Chatterjee .. Petitioner. Mr.Rajdeep Majumder Mr.Abir Ranjan Neogi Mr.Arindam Dey Mr.Pritam Ray .... for the petitioner Mr.Atif Ahmed Siddiqui ... for the State.
Heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the parties. Perused the case diary.
According to the case of the prosecution, a minor girl was eloped and kidnapped by her neighbour and then was taken to different places, where she was forced to cohabit with him, as a result, she conceived and gave birth to a female child at a Nursing Home, New Debi Nursing Home, Contai. Thereafter the doctor in conspiracy and in collusion with another co-accused sold out the baby to the present petitioner for Rs.50,000/- who had no child. 2 The police, in this case, arrested the doctor, the accused, who kidnapped the baby, and the person through whom the baby was sold out and others. The child has already been recovered and handed over to the Child Welfare Committee and now the child is in their custody. The DNA test has also been done.
Beside that allegation, being a childless couple has purchased the baby, no other incriminating material is there so far as this petitioner is concerned.
The police after concluding the initial part of the investigation submitted a charge-sheet with a prayer to continue with further investigation and to file a supplementary charge-sheet.
We find from the records that during further investigation, there has been sufficient progress and now they located the owner of the said Nursing Home, who has allegedly removed the records of the Nursing Home, so as to cause disappearance of evidence of the offence.
Now, considering the role attributed to the present petitioner in the commission of the offences and his extent of complicity and also considering the submission of the learned advocate for the State that further investigation does not relate to him and when no case is made out from the side of the State that if the petitioner is released 3 on bail, he is likely to abscond or even after release, he may tamper with the evidence and considering his length of detention in custody and the further fact that the date of evidence is fixed in the midst of July, 2017, we think that this is a fit case to release him on bail.
Accordingly, this application for bail stands allowed. Let the petitioner be released on bail to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court (under POCSO Act), South 24- Parganas at Alipore upon furnishing a Bond of Rs.60,000/-, with two sureties of Rs.30,000/- each, both of whom must be local and on further condition, after release he shall not leave the jurisdiction of Baranagar Police Station except for the purpose of attending the court proceeding and shall report to the Officer-in-Charge of that police station on every alternate day and to meet the Officer-in- Charge, Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar as and when required.
Before parting with we must record that yesterday (03.05.2017) we heard a similar type of case, where neither the person, who purchased the baby, was apprehended by the police, nor the baby was placed before the Child Welfare Committee, nor any DNA test was done. But, in this case, we are fully satisfied that the investigation has been done in a proper manner. It must be 4 remembered that traffic in human being is not only a penal offence, but its prohibition is guaranteed under Article 23 of the Constitution.
We, therefore, in such circumstances, strongly recommend that the Commissioner, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar must consider the question of rewarding the Officer-in-Charge, Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar as also the Investigating Officer of the case.
The learned Registrar General, High Court, Calcutta is directed to communicate this order at once to the Commissioner, Kolkata Police for taking appropriate steps in terms of our observations.
Accordingly, this application for bail is disposed of.
(Ashim Kumar Roy, J.) (Amitabha Chatterjee, J.) 17 04.05.2017 sm Allowed CRM No.3779 of 2017 5 In the matter of an application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 02.05.2017 in connection with Bhawanipore Police Station Case No.141 of 2016 dated 27.04.2016 under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code and adding sections 120B/201/363/365/366A/370A/370(5)/376/419/420 and sections 80, 81 and 84 of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act, 2015 and sections 4 and 17 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
.
And In Re:- Jayanta Prasad Chatterjee .. Petitioner. Mr.Rajdeep Majumder Mr.Abir Ranjan Neogi Mr.Arindam Dey Mr.Pritam Ray .... for the petitioner Mr.Atif Ahmed Siddiqui ... for the State.
Heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the parties. Perused the case diary.
According to the case of the prosecution, a minor girl was eloped and kidnapped by her neighbour and then was taken to different places, where she was forced to cohabit with him, as a result, she conceived and gave birth to a female child at a Nursing Home, New Debi Nursing Home, Contai. Thereafter the doctor in conspiracy and in collusion with another co-accused sold out the baby to the present petitioner for Rs.50,000/- who had no child.
The police, in this case, arrested the doctor, the accused, who kidnapped the baby, and the person through whom the baby was sold out and others. The child has already been recovered and 6 handed over to the Child Welfare Committee and now the child is in their custody. The DNA test has also been done.
Beside that allegation, being a childless couple has purchased the baby, no other incriminating material is there so far as this petitioner is concerned.
The police after concluding the initial part of the investigation submitted a charge-sheet with a prayer to continue with further investigation and to file a supplementary charge-sheet.
We find from the records that during further investigation, there has been sufficient progress and now they located the owner of the said Nursing Home, who has allegedly removed the records of the Nursing Home, so as to cause disappearance of evidence of the offence.
Now, considering the role attributed to the present petitioner in the commission of the offences and his extent of complicity and also considering the submission of the learned advocate for the State that further investigation does not relate to him and when no case is made out from the side of the State that if the petitioner is released on bail, he is likely to abscond or even after release, he may tamper with the evidence and considering his length of detention in custody 7 and the further fact that the date of evidence is fixed in the midst of July, 2017, we think that this is a fit case to release him on bail.
Accordingly, this application for bail stands allowed. Let the petitioner be released on bail to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court (under POCSO Act), South 24- Parganas at Alipore upon furnishing a Bond of Rs.60,000/-, with two sureties of Rs.30,000/- each, both of whom must be local and on further condition, after release he shall not leave the jurisdiction of Baranagar Police Station except for the purpose of attending the court proceeding and shall report to the Officer-in-Charge of that police station on every alternate day and to meet the Officer-in- Charge, Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar as and when required.
Before parting with we must record that yesterday (03.05.2017) we heard a similar type of case, where neither the person, who purchased the baby, was apprehended by the police, nor the baby was placed before the Child Welfare Committee, nor any DNA test was done. But, in this case, we are fully satisfied that the investigation has been done in a proper manner. It must be remembered that traffic in human being is not only a penal offence, but its prohibition is guaranteed under Article 23 of the Constitution. 8
We, therefore, in such circumstances, strongly recommend that the Commissioner, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar must consider the question of rewarding the Officer-in-Charge, Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar as also the Investigating Officer of the case.
The learned Registrar General, High Court, Calcutta is directed to communicate this order at once to the Commissioner, Kolkata Police for taking appropriate steps in terms of our observations.
Accordingly, this application for bail is disposed of.
(Ashim Kumar Roy, J.) (Amitabha Chatterjee, J.)