Samir Barman Vs the State of West Bengal and… — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Calcutta HC (2026)

Samir Barman Vs the State of West Bengal and… — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Calcutta HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Pre-arrest (anticipatory) bail granted: in the event of arrest, release on bail on a bond of Rs. 20,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one surety local), to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC / Section 482(2) BNSS conditions and further conditions (appearance before the jurisdictional court on each hearing date; no intimidation of witnesses or tampering with evidence; no entry into Sitai police station jurisdiction till conclusion of trial; no contact with the victim or her family physically, telephonically or digitally; disclosure of present address to the local police station).

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory (pre-arrest) bail under Section 438 CrPC / Section 482 BNSS in connection with POCSO Case No. 36/2022 (Sitai Police Station Case No. 71 of 2022) under Sections 363/365 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

Court's answer

Upon considering the statement of the victim recorded by the learned Judicial Magistrate, the medical report and the age gap between the parties, the court was inclined to allow the petitioner's prayer for pre-arrest bail.

Ratio / Principle

In the event of arrest, the petitioner is to be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs. 20,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one of whom must be local), to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to the conditions under Section 438(2) CrPC corresponding to Section 482(2) BNSS.

Key takeaways

The petitioner shall appear before the jurisdictional court on each date of hearing as may be fixed and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever.ratio¶¶16
The petitioner shall not enter into the jurisdiction of the Sitai police station till conclusion of the trial.ratio¶¶16
The petitioner shall not try to contact the victim or her family physically, over telephone and/or through any digital platform.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail – POCSO case (Section 6, POCSO Act; Sections 363/365, IPC), Sitai Police Station Case No. 71 of 2022 / POCSO Case No. 36/2022 – charge-sheet filed, investigation complete – Calcutta High Court, Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri (Shampa Sarkar, J.) allowed pre-arrest bail under Section 438 CrPC / Section 482 BNSS considering the statement of the victim recorded by the learned Judicial Magistrate, the medical report and the age gap between the parties – release in the event of arrest on bond of Rs. 20,000/- with two sureties of like amount each (one local), to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC / Section 482(2) BNSS – further conditions: appearance before the jurisdictional court on each hearing date; no intimidation of witnesses or tampering with evidence; no entry into Sitai police station jurisdiction till conclusion of trial; no physical, telephonic or digital contact with the victim or her family; disclosure of present address to the local police station – jurisdictional court empowered to cancel bail on breach of conditions without further reference to the High Court.

30.07.2026 Ct. No. 11 SL No.08 Cp

CALCUTTA HIGH COURT

IN THE CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI

CRM (A) No. 464 of 2026

In Re: - An application for anticipatory bail under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/Section 482 of the B.N.S.S. 2023, in connection with POCSO Case No. 36/2022, arising out of Sitai Police Station Case No.71 of 2022, dated 10.05.2022 under Sections 363/365 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

And

In the matter of: Samir Barman

….Petitioner. Mr. Debajit Kundu …for the Petitioner. Mr. Avrojyoti Das, Ld. APP Mr. Raj Kumar Mitra Mr. Atul Dong … for the State.

Despite service, none appears on behalf of the victim or the de facto complainant.

The petitioner prays for pre-arrest bail.

It is submitted by the petitioner that the charge-sheet has been filed and the investigation is complete.

Learned advocate for the State opposes the prayer for grant of pre-arrest bail and produces the case diary.

Upon considering the statement of the victim recorded by the learned Judicial Magistrate, the medical report and the age gap between the parties, this court is inclined to allow the prayer of the petitioner.

Accordingly, this court directs that, in the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of

2

Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer and 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 B.N.S.S. 2023. The petitioner shall appear before the jurisdictional court on each date of hearing as may be fixed and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever. The petitioner shall also not enter into the jurisdiction of the Sitai police station till conclusion of the trial. The petitioner shall also not try to contact with the victim or her family physically, over telephone and/or through any digital platform.

The present address of the petitioner shall be disclosed to the local police station.

In case the petitioner fails to adhere to any of the conditions stated above, the learned jurisdictional court shall be entitled to cancel the bail without further reference to this court.

The application for anticipatory bail, thus, disposed of.

All parties shall act on the server copies of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

(Shampa Sarkar, J.)