Mrs. Zinnia Basak vs Unknown (25/02/2020)

Calcutta High Court

Mrs. Zinnia Basak vs Unknown

AP CRM 1992 of 2020

DATE: 25 February, 2020

In Re: – An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 20.02.2020 in connection with Chandannagar P.S. Case No.11 of 2020 dated 31.01.2020 under Sections 420/406/384/506 of the Indian Penal Code.

And In the matter of: Mrs. Zinnia Basak ….Petitioner.

Mr. Sandip Kumar Bhattacharyya, Mr. Abdul Murshid …for the Petitioner.

Mr. Arun Kumar Maiti, Ld. A.P.P., Mr. Tarun Kumar Chatterjee …for the State.

Investigating officer is personally present before this court. Presence of the Investigating Officer is noted and dispensed with at present.

It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that she is a victim of police excess. She instituted a writ proceeding before this Court alleging abuse of police powers by the local police administration. In retaliation she has been falsely implicated in a series of cases. She is in custody for about 25 days.

Learned counsel for the State opposes the prayer for bail and submits that the petitioner was illegally carrying on usurious business and had cheated a number of persons. Learned counsel for the State also denies and disputes the allegations levelled against the police officers in the petition. We have considered the materials on record. Whether the petitioner was illegally carrying on money lending business or not may be assessed at the appropriate stage of the proceeding in accordance with law. Documents relating to the business have already been seized. Under such circumstances and in view of the period of detention suffered by the petitioner, we are inclined to grant bail to the petitioner.

Let the petitioner be released on bail upon furnishing a Bond of Rs.20,000/-(Rupees Twenty Thousand Only), with two registered sureties of Rs.10,000/- each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandannagar, Hooghly subject to the condition that during bail the petitioner shall appear before the learned trial court regularly till disposal of the trial and the petitioner shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever and on further condition that the petitioner while on bail shall cooperate with the investigation.

In the event the petitioner fails to comply with the conditions as enshrined hereinbefore, it is open to the trial court to cancel the bail without any further reference to this Court.

The application for bail is, thus, disposed of.

(Joymalya Bagchi, J.)

(Suvra Ghosh, J.)