Full Judgment Text
2025 INSC 788
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 2880 OF 2025
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538 of 2023)
CENTRAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION .….APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
SEKH JAMIR HOSSAIN
AND ORS. ....RESPONDENT(S)
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 2881 OF 2025
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No (s).15160 OF 2023)
J U D G M E N T
Mehta, J.
1. Heard.
2. Leave granted.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
ANITA MALHOTRA
Date: 2025.05.29
17:31:00 IST
Reason:
1
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
3. These two appeals take exception to the orders
th th
dated 24 January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023
passed by the learned Division Bench of High Court
1
at Calcutta whereby the respondents in both the
appeals were granted bail in connection with FIR
th
bearing No. RC0562021S0051 dated 16 December,
2021 registered at CBI/SCB/Kolkata Police Station
for the offences punishable under Sections 143,
144, 147, 148, 149, 427, 326, 376 read with 511
2
and 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 .
4. Succinctly stated, the facts as narrated in the
FIR are that the incident in question took place on
nd
2 May, 2021 just after the announcement of
results of the Assembly elections in the State of
West Bengal. The complainant claims to be a
follower of Hindu religion. It is alleged that the
majority of the villagers residing in the village of the
complainant, namely, Gumsima, PO Jatra belong to
the other community and are the supporters and
workers of the ruling dispensation. The complainant
alleged that being in minority, he was unable to
carry on his religious pursuits in the village. The
1 Hereinafter, referred to as “High Court”.
2 Hereinafter, referred to as “IPC”.
2
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
complainant and few more villagers gathered
courage and started campaigning for the Bharatiya
Janta Party prior to the Assembly elections in the
State of West Bengal, thereby drawing the wrath of
the supporters of the ruling dispensation who
threatened that he and his family members would
be harmed. Before the elections, a bomb was thrown
nd
at his tea stall. On the evening of 2 May, 2021 i.e.,
the date on which election results were announced,
a gang of miscreants led by Sekh Mahim s/o Sekh
Jalil, a leader belonging to the ruling dispensation
from village Gumsima, PO Jatra gathered together
and started throwing bombs towards the house of
the complainant. It is alleged that around 40 to 50
miscreants, who were heavily armed, launched an
offensive on his house. The assailants were carrying
weapons like sticks, knives, iron rods, revolvers, etc.
and started assaulting the complainant and his
family members. The complainant’s house was
totally vandalized and looted by the accused
persons. The wife of the complainant was grabbed
by hair, her clothes were snatched away, and she
was forcibly undressed. The assailants indulged in
3
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
molesting the complainant’s wife by inappropriately
touching her private parts. In order to save herself,
the complainant’s wife poured kerosene oil on her
person and threatened that she would set fire to
herself on which the miscreants left the spot. The
complainant, his wife and their two children
somehow escaped from the village to save their lives
and approached the Sadaipur Police Station on the
next day, to lodge a complaint in respect of the
nd
incident dated 2 May, 2021. The officer-in-charge
of the police station did not accept the complaint
and advised the complainant to leave the village to
save his and his family’s life.
5. This Court has been apprised that numerous
incidents with like allegations took place in the
aftermath of the election results in the State of West
Bengal. It is a common grievance that the local
police refused to lodge the FIRs on which a number
3
of writ petitions came to be filed in the High Court
th
at Calcutta. The High Court by order dated 19
August, 2021 directed the Central Bureau of
4
Investigation to investigate all the cases where the
3 WPA(P) Nos. 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, and 167 of 2021.
4 Hereinafter, referred to as “CBI”.
4
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
allegations involved murder and/or crime against
women regarding rape/attempt to rape. Acting in
furtherance of the above direction, FIR bearing No.
th
RC0562021S0051 dated 16 December, 2021 came
to be registered at CBI/SCB/Kolkata Police Station
for the offences punishable under Sections 143,
144, 147, 148, 149, 427, 326, 376 read with 511
and 34 of IPC in connection with the incident which
took place at the house of the complainant.
6. The accused respondents in both the appeals
rd
came to be arrested on 3 November, 2022 and were
remanded to judicial custody. After investigation, a
charge-sheet has been filed by the CBI against a
number of assailants including the respondents
herein for the offences punishable under Sections
34, 148, 149, 326, 354, 511 read with 376D and
450 of IPC.
5
7. The respondents applied for bail in the High
Court which accepted their applications vide orders
th th
dated 24 January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023 which
are subject matter of challenge in these appeals by
special leave.
5 CRM(DB) No. 56 of 2023 and CRM (DB) No. 1249 of 2023.
5
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
8. We have heard and considered the
submissions advanced by Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee,
learned Additional Solicitor General representing
the appellant-CBI and Mr. S. Hariharan, learned
counsel representing the accused respondents.
9. Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee, learned Additional
Solicitor General representing the appellant-CBI
submitted that the High Court granted bail to the
respondents on totally extraneous considerations.
The fact remains that there is no possibility of a fair
trial being conducted because the respondents are
politically influential and they even managed to
prevent the registration of the FIR in respect of such
ghastly crimes. The FIR in the present case could be
registered that too by the CBI only after the High
Court intervened in the matter and passed
directions to register the FIRs vide judgment dated
th
19 August, 2021. The CBI was directed to
investigate all the cases where the allegations
involved the crime of murder and/or crime against
women regarding rape/attempt to rape. In
furtherance of the directions given by the High
Court, the CBI registered the instant FIR and with
6
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
great degree of difficulty, the accused persons were
arrested and charge-sheet could be filed in the
matter.
10. He urged that the respondents are influencing
the trial and are not letting the proceedings to be
continued. On numerous dates of hearing, the
accused respondents have failed to appear before
the trial Court, which is struggling to even frame
the charges against the accused respondents. He
further submitted that the accused respondents
were specifically named in the statement of the
complainant and the victim lady, and as such,
looking to the nature and gravity of the allegations
and the propensity of the accused respondents to
abscond and/or adversely affect the proceedings of
the trial and the imminent probability of the
witnesses being threatened and tampered, the High
Court should have refrained from granting bail to
the accused respondents.
11. Per contra , learned counsel representing the
respondents, being the accused persons, opposed
the submissions advanced by Mr. Banerjee. He
7
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
contended that the High Court has analysed the
factual matrix in an apropos manner while
distinguishing the case of the respondents and
enlarging them on bail. The fact remains that
neither in the highly belated FIR nor in the
statement of the witnesses recorded by the
Investigating Officer, any specific role has been
assigned to the respondents herein and thus, there
is no justification for entertaining these appeals and
interfering with the well-reasoned order passed by
the High Court granting bail to the respondents. He
thus, implored the Court to dismiss the appeals.
12. We have given our thoughtful consideration to
the submissions advanced at the bar and have gone
through the material placed on record.
13. Law is well-settled by a catena of decisions of
this Court that the considerations for grant of bail
and cancellation thereof are entirely different. Bail
once granted to the accused should normally not be
interfered with/cancelled unless there exist
circumstances giving rise to an inference that the
bail has been procured by practicing fraud or mis-
8
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
representation; that the allegations against the
accused are so grave that the same have an adverse
impact on the society at large and shake the
conscience of the Court; that releasing the accused
respondents on bail is likely to create a sense of fear
and terror amongst the society or that the accused
while on bail may abscond or tamper with the
prosecution evidence.
14. Having regard to the facts enumerated above,
we feel that the present one is a case wherein the
allegations against the accused respondents are so
grave that the same shake the conscience of the
Court. Furthermore, there is an imminent
propensity of the accused persons adversely
affecting the proceedings of the trial. It is
undisputed that the complainant approached the
rd
Sadaipur Police Station on 3 May, 2021 for
registering a complaint in respect of incident dated
nd
2 May, 2021, but the officer-in-charge refused to
register the FIR conveying that he and his family
members should go away from the village for their
own safety. Apparently, this approach of the local
police lends credence to the apprehension of the
9
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
complainant about the clout and influence which
the accused respondents bear over the locality and
even the police.
15. The FIR in the present case came to be
registered only upon intervention by the High Court
th
vide
judgment dated 19 August, 2021 in a batch of
writ petitions, directing the CBI to investigate all the
cases where the allegations involve crime of murder
and/or crime against women regarding
rape/attempt to rape.
16. Mr. Banerjee had submitted that even the
officers of the CBI were not receiving the required
cooperation from the local police and thus,
culmination of the investigation took almost one and
a half years.
17. Having gone through the contents of the FIR,
we find that there is hardly any scope for
distinguishing the case of the respondents and that
of the accused to whom the specific allegation of
disrobing the complainant’s wife is attributed. The
concerted attack on the complainant’s house was
launched on the day of election results with the sole
10
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
objective of wreaking vengeance because he had
supported the saffron party. This is a grave
circumstance which convinces us that the accused
persons including the respondents herein were
trying to terrorize the members of the opposite
political party whom the accused respondents were
supporting. The reprehensible manner in which the
incident was perpetrated shows the vengeful
attitude of the accused persons and their avowed
objective to subdue the supporters of the opposite
party into submission by hook or by crook. The
dastardly offence was nothing short of a grave
attack on the roots of democracy.
18. There is prima facie material to establish that
the accused persons formed an unlawful assembly
and launched a concerted attack on the house of
the complainant vandalising the same and looting
away the household articles. The complainant’s wife
was viciously pulled by the hair and was disrobed.
The accused persons were about to assault her
sexually when the lady gathered courage to pour
kerosene on her body and gave a threat of self-
immolation on which the accused persons including
11
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
the respondents herein fled away from the
complainant’s house.
19. The charge-sheet has been filed way back in
the year 2022 and till date, the trial has not budged
an inch. The prosecution has alleged that this delay
is mostly attributable to non-cooperation by the
accused persons including the respondents herein
which fact is palpably established from record.
20. In this background, we feel that there is no
possibility of a fair and impartial trial being
conducted, if the accused respondents are allowed
to remain on bail. Thus, on both counts, i.e., (i) the
nature and gravity of the offence which is nothing
short of an attack on the roots of democracy and (ii)
the imminent likelihood of the accused adversely
affecting a fair trial, the bail granted to the accused
respondents has to be cancelled.
th
21. Consequently, the impugned orders dated 24
th
January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023 deserve to be
and are hereby reversed. The bail granted to the
accused respondents by the High Court is
accordingly cancelled. The accused respondents
12
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
shall surrender before the trial Court within two
weeks from today, failing which, the trial Court shall
adopt coercive measures to secure their presence.
Upon surrendering/being arrested, the accused
respondents shall be remanded to custody.
22. The trial Court shall expedite the proceedings
and will try to conclude the trial within a period of
six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this
order. In case, any stay orders have been passed on
the proceedings before the trial Court by any higher
forum including the High Court, the same shall be
deemed to have been vacated. The Home Secretary,
State of West Bengal and the Director General of
Police, State of West Bengal shall ensure that proper
protection is provided to the complainant and all
other material witnesses so that they can freely
appear and depose at the trial without any fear or
apprehension. Any violation of the above direction
may be reported to this Court by the appellant-CBI
or the complainant for suitable action.
13
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
23. Additionally, the observations made in this
judgment and in the orders of the High Court shall
not prejudice the trial in any manner.
24. The appeals are allowed in these terms.
25. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand
disposed of.
….……………………J.
(VIKRAM NATH)
...…………………….J.
(SANDEEP MEHTA)
NEW DELHI;
May 29, 2025.
14
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 2880 OF 2025
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538 of 2023)
CENTRAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION .….APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
SEKH JAMIR HOSSAIN
AND ORS. ....RESPONDENT(S)
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 2881 OF 2025
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No (s).15160 OF 2023)
J U D G M E N T
Mehta, J.
1. Heard.
2. Leave granted.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
ANITA MALHOTRA
Date: 2025.05.29
17:31:00 IST
Reason:
1
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
3. These two appeals take exception to the orders
th th
dated 24 January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023
passed by the learned Division Bench of High Court
1
at Calcutta whereby the respondents in both the
appeals were granted bail in connection with FIR
th
bearing No. RC0562021S0051 dated 16 December,
2021 registered at CBI/SCB/Kolkata Police Station
for the offences punishable under Sections 143,
144, 147, 148, 149, 427, 326, 376 read with 511
2
and 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 .
4. Succinctly stated, the facts as narrated in the
FIR are that the incident in question took place on
nd
2 May, 2021 just after the announcement of
results of the Assembly elections in the State of
West Bengal. The complainant claims to be a
follower of Hindu religion. It is alleged that the
majority of the villagers residing in the village of the
complainant, namely, Gumsima, PO Jatra belong to
the other community and are the supporters and
workers of the ruling dispensation. The complainant
alleged that being in minority, he was unable to
carry on his religious pursuits in the village. The
1 Hereinafter, referred to as “High Court”.
2 Hereinafter, referred to as “IPC”.
2
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
complainant and few more villagers gathered
courage and started campaigning for the Bharatiya
Janta Party prior to the Assembly elections in the
State of West Bengal, thereby drawing the wrath of
the supporters of the ruling dispensation who
threatened that he and his family members would
be harmed. Before the elections, a bomb was thrown
nd
at his tea stall. On the evening of 2 May, 2021 i.e.,
the date on which election results were announced,
a gang of miscreants led by Sekh Mahim s/o Sekh
Jalil, a leader belonging to the ruling dispensation
from village Gumsima, PO Jatra gathered together
and started throwing bombs towards the house of
the complainant. It is alleged that around 40 to 50
miscreants, who were heavily armed, launched an
offensive on his house. The assailants were carrying
weapons like sticks, knives, iron rods, revolvers, etc.
and started assaulting the complainant and his
family members. The complainant’s house was
totally vandalized and looted by the accused
persons. The wife of the complainant was grabbed
by hair, her clothes were snatched away, and she
was forcibly undressed. The assailants indulged in
3
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
molesting the complainant’s wife by inappropriately
touching her private parts. In order to save herself,
the complainant’s wife poured kerosene oil on her
person and threatened that she would set fire to
herself on which the miscreants left the spot. The
complainant, his wife and their two children
somehow escaped from the village to save their lives
and approached the Sadaipur Police Station on the
next day, to lodge a complaint in respect of the
nd
incident dated 2 May, 2021. The officer-in-charge
of the police station did not accept the complaint
and advised the complainant to leave the village to
save his and his family’s life.
5. This Court has been apprised that numerous
incidents with like allegations took place in the
aftermath of the election results in the State of West
Bengal. It is a common grievance that the local
police refused to lodge the FIRs on which a number
3
of writ petitions came to be filed in the High Court
th
at Calcutta. The High Court by order dated 19
August, 2021 directed the Central Bureau of
4
Investigation to investigate all the cases where the
3 WPA(P) Nos. 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, and 167 of 2021.
4 Hereinafter, referred to as “CBI”.
4
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
allegations involved murder and/or crime against
women regarding rape/attempt to rape. Acting in
furtherance of the above direction, FIR bearing No.
th
RC0562021S0051 dated 16 December, 2021 came
to be registered at CBI/SCB/Kolkata Police Station
for the offences punishable under Sections 143,
144, 147, 148, 149, 427, 326, 376 read with 511
and 34 of IPC in connection with the incident which
took place at the house of the complainant.
6. The accused respondents in both the appeals
rd
came to be arrested on 3 November, 2022 and were
remanded to judicial custody. After investigation, a
charge-sheet has been filed by the CBI against a
number of assailants including the respondents
herein for the offences punishable under Sections
34, 148, 149, 326, 354, 511 read with 376D and
450 of IPC.
5
7. The respondents applied for bail in the High
Court which accepted their applications vide orders
th th
dated 24 January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023 which
are subject matter of challenge in these appeals by
special leave.
5 CRM(DB) No. 56 of 2023 and CRM (DB) No. 1249 of 2023.
5
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
8. We have heard and considered the
submissions advanced by Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee,
learned Additional Solicitor General representing
the appellant-CBI and Mr. S. Hariharan, learned
counsel representing the accused respondents.
9. Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee, learned Additional
Solicitor General representing the appellant-CBI
submitted that the High Court granted bail to the
respondents on totally extraneous considerations.
The fact remains that there is no possibility of a fair
trial being conducted because the respondents are
politically influential and they even managed to
prevent the registration of the FIR in respect of such
ghastly crimes. The FIR in the present case could be
registered that too by the CBI only after the High
Court intervened in the matter and passed
directions to register the FIRs vide judgment dated
th
19 August, 2021. The CBI was directed to
investigate all the cases where the allegations
involved the crime of murder and/or crime against
women regarding rape/attempt to rape. In
furtherance of the directions given by the High
Court, the CBI registered the instant FIR and with
6
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
great degree of difficulty, the accused persons were
arrested and charge-sheet could be filed in the
matter.
10. He urged that the respondents are influencing
the trial and are not letting the proceedings to be
continued. On numerous dates of hearing, the
accused respondents have failed to appear before
the trial Court, which is struggling to even frame
the charges against the accused respondents. He
further submitted that the accused respondents
were specifically named in the statement of the
complainant and the victim lady, and as such,
looking to the nature and gravity of the allegations
and the propensity of the accused respondents to
abscond and/or adversely affect the proceedings of
the trial and the imminent probability of the
witnesses being threatened and tampered, the High
Court should have refrained from granting bail to
the accused respondents.
11. Per contra , learned counsel representing the
respondents, being the accused persons, opposed
the submissions advanced by Mr. Banerjee. He
7
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
contended that the High Court has analysed the
factual matrix in an apropos manner while
distinguishing the case of the respondents and
enlarging them on bail. The fact remains that
neither in the highly belated FIR nor in the
statement of the witnesses recorded by the
Investigating Officer, any specific role has been
assigned to the respondents herein and thus, there
is no justification for entertaining these appeals and
interfering with the well-reasoned order passed by
the High Court granting bail to the respondents. He
thus, implored the Court to dismiss the appeals.
12. We have given our thoughtful consideration to
the submissions advanced at the bar and have gone
through the material placed on record.
13. Law is well-settled by a catena of decisions of
this Court that the considerations for grant of bail
and cancellation thereof are entirely different. Bail
once granted to the accused should normally not be
interfered with/cancelled unless there exist
circumstances giving rise to an inference that the
bail has been procured by practicing fraud or mis-
8
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
representation; that the allegations against the
accused are so grave that the same have an adverse
impact on the society at large and shake the
conscience of the Court; that releasing the accused
respondents on bail is likely to create a sense of fear
and terror amongst the society or that the accused
while on bail may abscond or tamper with the
prosecution evidence.
14. Having regard to the facts enumerated above,
we feel that the present one is a case wherein the
allegations against the accused respondents are so
grave that the same shake the conscience of the
Court. Furthermore, there is an imminent
propensity of the accused persons adversely
affecting the proceedings of the trial. It is
undisputed that the complainant approached the
rd
Sadaipur Police Station on 3 May, 2021 for
registering a complaint in respect of incident dated
nd
2 May, 2021, but the officer-in-charge refused to
register the FIR conveying that he and his family
members should go away from the village for their
own safety. Apparently, this approach of the local
police lends credence to the apprehension of the
9
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
complainant about the clout and influence which
the accused respondents bear over the locality and
even the police.
15. The FIR in the present case came to be
registered only upon intervention by the High Court
th
vide
judgment dated 19 August, 2021 in a batch of
writ petitions, directing the CBI to investigate all the
cases where the allegations involve crime of murder
and/or crime against women regarding
rape/attempt to rape.
16. Mr. Banerjee had submitted that even the
officers of the CBI were not receiving the required
cooperation from the local police and thus,
culmination of the investigation took almost one and
a half years.
17. Having gone through the contents of the FIR,
we find that there is hardly any scope for
distinguishing the case of the respondents and that
of the accused to whom the specific allegation of
disrobing the complainant’s wife is attributed. The
concerted attack on the complainant’s house was
launched on the day of election results with the sole
10
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
objective of wreaking vengeance because he had
supported the saffron party. This is a grave
circumstance which convinces us that the accused
persons including the respondents herein were
trying to terrorize the members of the opposite
political party whom the accused respondents were
supporting. The reprehensible manner in which the
incident was perpetrated shows the vengeful
attitude of the accused persons and their avowed
objective to subdue the supporters of the opposite
party into submission by hook or by crook. The
dastardly offence was nothing short of a grave
attack on the roots of democracy.
18. There is prima facie material to establish that
the accused persons formed an unlawful assembly
and launched a concerted attack on the house of
the complainant vandalising the same and looting
away the household articles. The complainant’s wife
was viciously pulled by the hair and was disrobed.
The accused persons were about to assault her
sexually when the lady gathered courage to pour
kerosene on her body and gave a threat of self-
immolation on which the accused persons including
11
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
the respondents herein fled away from the
complainant’s house.
19. The charge-sheet has been filed way back in
the year 2022 and till date, the trial has not budged
an inch. The prosecution has alleged that this delay
is mostly attributable to non-cooperation by the
accused persons including the respondents herein
which fact is palpably established from record.
20. In this background, we feel that there is no
possibility of a fair and impartial trial being
conducted, if the accused respondents are allowed
to remain on bail. Thus, on both counts, i.e., (i) the
nature and gravity of the offence which is nothing
short of an attack on the roots of democracy and (ii)
the imminent likelihood of the accused adversely
affecting a fair trial, the bail granted to the accused
respondents has to be cancelled.
th
21. Consequently, the impugned orders dated 24
th
January, 2023 and 13 April, 2023 deserve to be
and are hereby reversed. The bail granted to the
accused respondents by the High Court is
accordingly cancelled. The accused respondents
12
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
shall surrender before the trial Court within two
weeks from today, failing which, the trial Court shall
adopt coercive measures to secure their presence.
Upon surrendering/being arrested, the accused
respondents shall be remanded to custody.
22. The trial Court shall expedite the proceedings
and will try to conclude the trial within a period of
six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this
order. In case, any stay orders have been passed on
the proceedings before the trial Court by any higher
forum including the High Court, the same shall be
deemed to have been vacated. The Home Secretary,
State of West Bengal and the Director General of
Police, State of West Bengal shall ensure that proper
protection is provided to the complainant and all
other material witnesses so that they can freely
appear and depose at the trial without any fear or
apprehension. Any violation of the above direction
may be reported to this Court by the appellant-CBI
or the complainant for suitable action.
13
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter
23. Additionally, the observations made in this
judgment and in the orders of the High Court shall
not prejudice the trial in any manner.
24. The appeals are allowed in these terms.
25. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand
disposed of.
….……………………J.
(VIKRAM NATH)
...…………………….J.
(SANDEEP MEHTA)
NEW DELHI;
May 29, 2025.
14
Crl. Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) No (s). 10538/2023 with connected matter