Allowed¶11

Dhrubajyoti Deb v. State of West Bengal

Calcutta HC21 May 2026CRM (A)/1290/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

CRM (A) 1290 of 2026; anticipatory bail; Section 482 BNSS; BNS Sections 74, 79, 352, 353(1)(b), 353(2); Information Technology Act Sections 66 and 67A; social media posts; criminal defamation; Subramanian Swamy (2016) 7 SCC 221; Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station Case No. 138 of 2025; bail bond Rs.10,000/- with two sureties; fortnightly I.O. attendance; Jay Sengupta, J.; decided 21.05.2026.

What did the court decide?

Anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS: in the event of arrest, release on a bond of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one local), subject to Section 482(2) BNSS / Section 438(2) CrPC conditions, co-operation with the investigation, no threatening or intimidation of witnesses, and meeting the I.O. once a fortnight till submission of the report in final form. ¶11

Dhrubajyoti Deb Vs State of West Bengal — Anticipatory Bail | Calcutta HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶11

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, arraigned in Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station Case No. 138 of 2025 under Sections 74//79/352/353(1) (b)/353 (2) of BNS and Sections 66 and 67A of the Information Technology Act 2000, is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

¶3

Court's answer

Considering the materials in the case diary, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not required, and the court is inclined to grant anticipatory bail.

¶11

Ratio / Principle

In the event of arrest, the petitioner is to be released on bail on a bond of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one local), subject to the conditions under Section 438(2) CrPC / Section 482(2) BNSS, with further conditions of co-operation with the investigation, no threatening or intimidation of witnesses, and attendance before the I.O. once a fortnight till submission of the final report.

¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita granted to Dhrubajyoti Deb, described as a computer-engineering student, in connection with Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station Case No. 138 of 2025 dated 03.11.2025, registered under Sections 74//79/352/353(1) (b)/353 (2) of BNS and Sections 66 and 67A of the Information Technology Act 2000, arising out of alleged social-media posts. Holding that custodial interrogation was not required, Jay Sengupta, J. directed that in the event of arrest the petitioner be released on a bond of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one local), subject to the conditions of Section 438(2) CrPC corresponding to Section 482(2) BNSS, with further conditions of co-operation with the investigation, abstention from threatening or intimidating witnesses, and attendance before the I.O. once a fortnight till submission of the report in final form. Counsel for the petitioner relied on Subramanian Swamy, (2016) 7 SCC 221, submitting that for criminal defamation an FIR has to be lodged; the learned Amicus assisting the State referred to three posts, including one regarding defamation of the former Chief Minister.

¶1

21.05.2026 Court No.28 Item No.37 ssi

¶2

CRM (A) 1290 of 2026

¶3

In Re: - An application for anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in connection with Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station Case No. 138 of 2025 dated 03.11.2025 under Sections 74//79/352/353(1) (b)/353 (2) of BNS and 66 and 67A of the Information Technology Act 2000. And

¶4

In the matter of: Dhrubajyoti Deb.

¶5

Mr. Sagar Saha Ms. Nayana Mukhopadhyay

¶6

Mr. Kaustav Lal Mukherjee

¶7

…. Petitioner …for the petitioner ..Amicus

¶8

Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits as follows. The petitioner is a student of computer engineering. He has a social media account where he had made two posts, one was regarding vandalism of temples in Bangladesh that happened earlier and the second one in support of the process of SIR. He has been falsely and needlessly implicated in this instant case.

¶9

Learned Amicus assisting the State relies on the case diary and submits that there were three posts made, one of which was regarding defamation of the former Chief Minister.

¶10

It is settled law that for criminal defamation, an FIR has to be lodged. Reliance is placed on Subramanian Swamy’s case, (2016) 7 SCC 221.

¶11

Considering the above and the other materials available in the case diary, I do not think that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is required in this case and I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner.

¶12

¶13

In the event of arrest, the petitioner 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 also be subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 corresponding to Section 482(2) of the BNSS, 2023 and on further conditions that the petitioner shall co-operate with the investigation and shall not threaten or intimidate the witnesses. The petitioner shall meet the I.O. once a fortnight till submission of report in final form.

¶14

The application for anticipatory bail is, thus, disposed of.

¶15

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order be supplied to the parties, if applied for, as early as possible.

¶16

(Jay Sengupta, J.)

Dhrubajyoti Deb v. State of West Bengal

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Dhrubajyoti Deb v. State of West Bengal

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Cases cited

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Biki Das Vs State of West Bengal

Sunanda Dhar Vs State of West Bengal

Anisur Rahaman Vs State of West Bengal

Abdul Ajij Chowdhury @ Chowdhury Abdul Ajij @ Kazi Chowdhury Abdul Aziz Vs State of West Bengal

Golam Nabi Mondal @ Pintu Mondal Vs State of West Bengal and Anr.

Basudeb Dutta and Anr. Vs State of West Bengal