Anticipatory bail can be sought after summons: Cal High Court

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has held that an accused can seek anticipatory bail even after a charge sheet has been filed and summons issued in a non-bailable case, clarifying that apprehension of custody is not limited to police arrest.

Justice Jay Sengupta observed the same while granting anticipatory bail to Asit Barik in a CBI probe into a murder that took place during the 2021 post-poll violence in Kolkata’s Narkeldanga area.

The court reiterated that there is no bar to filing an anticipatory bail application after cognisance has been taken and process issued. It reasoned that denying such relief merely because summons — and not a warrant — had been issued could lead to anomalous outcomes.

The concept of “arrest”, the court observed, is broad and may include deprivation of liberty pursuant to court process.

The court directed that in the event of arrest, the petitioner be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be local. He has been restrained from entering the jurisdiction of Narkeldanga Police Station for four months, except for attending court or meeting the investigating officer, and has been directed not to intimidate witnesses.

The case arises out of a sessions trial involving charges including murder. The petitioner, a neighbour of the deceased, was not named in the original FIR lodged in May 2021. He also did not figure in the first charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

His name surfaced later in a statement recorded before a magistrate in 2022.

Opposing the plea, the CBI described the incident as a “gruesome murder” linked to post-poll violence and relied on video footage, which was played before the court in chambers. According to the prosecution, the victim’s brother identified the petitioner from the footage.

The court noted that the footage showed a person walking along a road at some distance and that its authenticity and evidentiary value would ultimately be tested at trial.

It observed that it could be natural for a local resident to be seen on the road and that the grant of anticipatory bail must depend on the nature and quality of evidence available at that stage.