Gita Mondal and Ors. v. State of West Bengal

Calcutta HC16 Feb 2026CRM (A)/379/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Anticipatory bail allowed; C.R.M.(A) 379 of 2026; Section 482 BNSS 2023; Santipur P.S. case 1563/2025; BNS sections 85, 316(2), 3(5); SC/ST (POA) Act 1989 s.3(1)(R)(S); no prima facie case under POA Act as occurrence not in public view; neighbours did not support; no injury report in case diary; no custodial interrogation needed; bond Rs.10,000/- each, two sureties, one local; conditions to cooperate and not intimidate witnesses; Jay Sengupta, J.; decided 16/02/2026.

What did the court decide?

Anticipatory bail granted to the petitioners: in the event of arrest, release on a bond of Rs.10,000/- each with two sureties of like amount each (one local), to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to cooperation with the investigation and no threatening or intimidation of witnesses. ¶¶14

Gita Mondal and Ors. Vs State of West Bengal — Dowry and Cruelty | Calcutta HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether a prima facie case is made out under the SC and ST (POA) Act so as to attract the statutory bar on anticipatory bail. +1 more

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Court's answer

There is no injury report present in the case diary.

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Ratio / Principle

From the FIR, no occurrence attracting the provisions of the SC and ST (POA) Act appears to have been made in public view, and even the neighbours have not supported the case in this regard in their statements; therefore no prima facie case appears to have been made out under the SC and ST (POA) Act and the application for anticipatory bail is maintainable.

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Key takeaways

Considering the materials available in the case diary, custodial interrogation of the petitioners is not required and the court is inclined to grant anticipatory bail.ratio¶¶12
In the event of arrest, the petitioners shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/- each with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to conditions that the petitioners shall cooperate with the investigation and shall not threaten or intimidate the witnesses.ratio¶¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 in connection with Santipur P.S case no. 1563 of 2025 (dated 8/12/2025) under sections 85/316(2)/3(5) of the BNS and 3(1)(R)(S) of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The court held that, from the FIR, no occurrence attracting the SC and ST (POA) Act appeared to have been made in public view and the neighbours had not supported the allegation in their statements, so no prima facie case under the POA Act was made out and the statutory bar on anticipatory bail did not apply. No injury report was present in the case diary. Finding custodial interrogation unnecessary, the court allowed the application, directing release on a bond of Rs.10,000/- each with two like sureties (one local) to the Arresting Officer's satisfaction, subject to cooperation with investigation and abstention from threatening or intimidating witnesses.

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16/02/2026 D/L – 48 Court No.28 S. Kundu Allowed

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C.R.M.(A) 379 of 2026

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In Re: An application for anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023. In connection with Santipur P.S case no. 1563 of 2025 dated 8/12/2025 under sections 85/316(2)/3(5) of the BNS and 3(1)(R)(S) of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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In the matter of: Gita Mondal & Ors.

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...Petitioners.

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Mr. Asis Bhattacharyya …for the petitioners. Ms. Shaila Afrin Ms. Suruchi Saha …for the State. 1. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that no prima facie case is made out under the SC and ST (POA) Act so as to attract the bar on anticipatory bail. The petitioners are the -in-laws of the alleged victim. The de-facto complainant had left the matrimonial home five years ago. The petitioners have complied with notices issued.

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Learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail. She relies on the statements of the victim and other witnesses.

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From the FIR, it does not appear that any occurrence that could have attracted the provisions of the SC and ST (POA) Act was made in public view. Even the neighbours have not supported the case in this regard in their statements. Therefore, the application for anticipatory

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bail is quite maintainable as no prima facie case appears to have been made out under the SC and ST (POA) Act.

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There is no injury report present in the case diary.

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

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In the event of arrest, the petitioners shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/- each 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 further conditions that the petitioners shall cooperate with the investigation and shall not threaten or intimidate the witnesses.

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Accordingly, the application for anticipatory bail is allowed.

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Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance with requisite formalities.

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(Jay Sengupta, J.)

Gita Mondal and Ors. v. State of West Bengal

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Gita Mondal and Ors. v. State of West Bengal

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

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