Apu Roy@Rupa Roy Vs the State of West Bengal — Anticipatory Bail | Calcutta HC (2026)

Apu Roy@Rupa Roy Vs the State of West Bengal — Anticipatory Bail | Calcutta HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Anticipatory bail granted: in the event of arrest, release on bail on furnishing a 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) B.N.S.S. 2023 conditions and further conditions (appearance before jurisdictional court, cooperation with investigation, no intimidation of witnesses or tampering with evidence, no leaving Dhupguri police station jurisdiction except to attend court); jurisdictional court may cancel bail on breach.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail (pre-arrest bail) under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 / Section 482 of the B.N.S.S. 2023 in connection with Dhupguri Police Station Case No. 155 of 2026. +1 more

Court's answer

The petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail, standing on the same footing as another accused who was granted anticipatory bail; the objection of the State's advocate is not accepted.

Ratio / Principle

The statement of the victim does not implicate the petitioner.

Key takeaways

The allegation of trafficking against the petitioner is not backed by the contents of the case diary.ratio¶11
In the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on bail upon 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) B.N.S.S. 2023.ratio¶12
Conditions imposed: the petitioner shall appear before the jurisdictional court on each date of hearing, shall cooperate with the investigation, shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence, and shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Dhupguri police station except to attend court as and when required.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail — granted. In an application under section 438 CrPC / Section 482 B.N.S.S. 2023 arising out of Dhupguri Police Station Case No. 155 of 2026 (dated 23.05.2026) under Sections 143(2) BNS 2023, where the victim, a foreign national, was alleged to have been recovered from the petitioner's house, the Calcutta High Court (Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri) held that the victim's statement did not implicate the petitioner and the trafficking allegation was not backed by the case diary; noting parity with another accused already granted anticipatory bail, the Court directed that in the event of arrest the petitioner be released on a bond of Rs.20,000/- with two like sureties (one local), subject to Section 438(2)/482(2) conditions, cooperation with investigation, no intimidation of witnesses or tampering with evidence, and no departure from Dhupguri police station jurisdiction except to attend court; breach entitles the jurisdictional court to cancel bail without further reference.

24.07.2026 Ct. No. 11 SL No.10 Cp Allowed

CALCUTTA HIGH COURT

IN THE CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI

CRM (A) No. 538 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 Dhupguri Police Station Case No. 155 of 2026, dated 23.05.2026, under Sections 143(2) of the BNS, 2023.

And

In the matter of: Smt. Apu Roy @ Rupa Roy

….Petitioner. Mr. Anirban Banerjee Mr. Samir Das …for the Petitioner. Ms. Panchali Deb Sikder (Nag) Mr. Kallal Ghosh Mr. Arko Sarkar … for the State.

The petitioners pray for pre-arrest bail.

It is submitted by the learned advocate for the State that the victim, who is a foreign national, was recovered from the house of the petitioner.

It appears that the statement of the victim does not implicate the petitioner. The objection of Mr. Kallal Ghosh, learned advocate for the State is not accepted. The allegation of trafficking against the petitioner is also not backed by the contents of the case diary. Accordingly, the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail. The petitioner stands in the same footing as another accused who was granted anticipatory bail.

Accordingly, this court directs that, in the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must

2

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. The petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever. The petitioner shall also not leave the jurisdiction of the Dhupguri police station except for the purpose of attending the court as and when required.

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 is, 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.)