Goutam Sarkar v. the State of West Bengal

Calcutta HC7 Jan 2026CRM(A)/852/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

CRM(A) 852 of 2025; Calcutta High Court, Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench; Goutam Sarkar v. State; anticipatory bail; Section 482 BNSS 2023; Section 438 Cr.P.C.; Sections 108/61(2) BNS 2023; abetment of suicide; Kotowali Police Station Case No. 782 of 2025; GR Case No. 1678 of 2025; Cooch Behar; bond Rs.20,000; sureties Rs.10,000; Tirthankar Ghosh, J.; bail allowed 07.01.2026.

What did the court decide?

Prayer for bail allowed; CRM(A) 852 of 2025 disposed of. Petitioner to be released on bail in the event of arrest on a bond of Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of Rs.10,000/- each (one local), subject to Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. / Section 482(2) BNSS conditions, with weekly meetings with the Investigating Officer from 10.01.2026 until charge-sheet/further orders and restriction on leaving Cooch Behar district without IO permission. ¶¶20

Goutam Sarkar Vs the State of West Bengal — Anticipatory Bail | Calcutta HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner's prayer for bail (pre-arrest/anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 / Section 438 Cr.P.C.) in connection with Kotowali Police Station Case No. 782 of 2025 under Sections 108/61(2) BNS, 2023 should be allowed.

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Court's answer

Having regard to the facts and circumstances (including the post-mortem finding of death due to consumption of poison and the case diary not reflecting seizure of the deceased's mobile phone despite allegations of telephonic threats), further custodial detention of the petitioner may not be warranted.

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Ratio / Principle

In the event of arrest, the petitioner is to be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of Rs.10,000/- each (one of whom must be local), to the satisfaction of the arresting officer, subject to the conditions under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. and/or Section 482(2) BNSS, 2023.

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Key takeaways

The petitioner shall, on and from 10th January, 2026, meet the Investigating Officer once a week until further orders of the court and/or submission of the charge-sheet, and shall not leave the jurisdiction of the district of Cooch Behar without prior permission of the investigating officer.ratio¶¶24

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail – granted. Application under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 / Section 438 Cr.P.C. by Goutam Sarkar, father of Sathi Sarkar, in connection with Kotowali Police Station Case No. 782 of 2025 dated 22.09.2025 under Sections 108/61(2) BNS, 2023 (GR Case No. 1678 of 2025), arising out of the suicide of Binay Debnath. State produced the case diary showing death due to consumption of poison per the post-mortem report; accusations were that the petitioner threatened the deceased over mobile phone to marry the petitioner's daughter, but the case diary did not reflect seizure of the deceased's mobile phone. Holding further custodial detention unwarranted, the court allowed the bail prayer: release in the event of arrest on a bond of Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of Rs.10,000/- each (one local), subject to Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. / Section 482(2) BNSS conditions; petitioner to meet the Investigating Officer weekly from 10.01.2026 until charge-sheet/further orders and not to leave Cooch Behar district without IO permission. Application disposed of. (Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)

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07.01.2026

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Serial no. 2 [G.S.D]

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CALCUTTA HIGH COURT IN THE CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI

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CRM (A) 852 of 2025

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In re : An Application under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023/under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. in connection with Kotowali Police Station Case No. 782 of 2025 dated 22.09.2025 u/s 108/61(2) of the BNS, 2023 corresponding to GR Case No. 1678 of 2025.

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-And-

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In the matter of : Goutam Sarkar

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… Petitioner(s)

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Mr. Hillol Saha Poddar

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… for the petitioner(s)

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Mr. Ujjwal Luksom Ms. Namrata Das

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… for the State-respondent(s)

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Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is the father of one Sathi Sarkar who was responsible for a relationship and, consequently, the commission of suicide of the deceased namely, one Binay Debnath.

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Additionally, it has been submitted that the petitioner is innocent of the charges and has been implicated in the instant case because of the frustration of the defactocomplainant who has lost his brother.

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Learned advocate for the State has produced the original Case Diary and drawn the attention of the court to the post-mortem report which reflects that death was due to consumption of poison.

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The accusations are that the petitioner over mobile phone threatened the deceased for which the deceased was unable to tolerate the mental torture inflicted upon him and he was also threatened for being assaulted in order to marry the daughter of the petitioner. The Case Diary do not reflect that even the mobile phone of the deceased has been seized.

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Having regard to the same, I am of the opinion that further custodial detention of the petitioner may not be warranted in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

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Hence, the prayer for bail of the petitioner is

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Allowed.

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Accordingly, I direct that in the event of arrest, the petitioner be released on bail upon furnishing bond of Rs.20,000/-(Rupees Twenty Thousand only), with two sureties of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the arresting officer of the case and also subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.

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and/or under Section 482(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

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The petitioner shall on and from 10^th January, 2026 once in a week meet with the Investigating Officer of the case until further orders of this court and/or charge-sheet is submitted. The petitioner also shall not leave the jurisdiction of the district of Cooch Behar without prior permission of the investigating officer of the case.

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The Investigating Officer of the case is present in court today. His further appearance before this court for the day is dispensed with.

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Accordingly, CRM(A) 852 of 2025 is disposed of . Pending application(s), if any, is also disposed of.

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Parties to act on a server copy of this order duly collected from the official website of the Hon’ble High Court, Calcutta.

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Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.

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(Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)

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