High court grants bail to accused due to delay in trial progress

Kolkata: Observing that an undertrial cannot be kept in incarceration for an indefinite period of time without carrying the trial to its logical conclusion, the Calcutta High Court has granted conditional bail to an accused in a POCSO case.

The bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray was hearing the bail application of the petitioner Haru Gopal Goswami, who is accused of raping a minor.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted he is in custody for about three years, five months. Only two out of 13 chargesheet-named witnesses were examined. The vulnerable witnesses have already been examined. He prayed for bail on the grounds of delay in progress of trial.

Opposing the bail plea, the state advocate drew the court’s attention to the deposition of the victim girl and the de facto complainant, her mother. Prima facie both of them implicated the petitioner. The medical report is, however, inconclusive, it was observed.

The court observed: “It cannot be said that there is no incriminating evidence against the petitioner. However, we cannot also be oblivious of a citizen’s fundamental right to personal liberty and speedy trial as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

“The prosecution may have a very strong case against the petitioner. Nobody stands in the way of the prosecution securing the petitioner’s conviction at the completion of the trial. However, an undertrial cannot be kept in incarceration for an indefinite period of time without carrying the trial to its logical conclusion,” it added.