RAJIB PAUL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On the 12th of July, 2021, Haldia Police Station Case No. 80 of 2021 under Ss. 341, 384, 506 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code was registered. The principal accused in the said F.I.R. is one Shyamal Adak. The writ petitioner Rajib Paul was a co-accused. The complainant Sk. Mobarak Ali, had stated that sometime in the year 2018, the said Shyamal Adak use to collect by extortion a sum of Rs.100.00 per truck to allow loading of coal at the Haldia Dock Complex. The payment was received and recorded in a slip issued by the said Shyamal Adak and his associates inside the trade union office of the dock complex. On one such instance, the petitioner failed and refused to make payment, following which he was not allowed to load his truck with coal. The Petitioner was allowed to load his truck only after forking out of the said sum of Rs.100..00 Due the pressure and intimidation by the said Shyamal Adak and his associates, the consignees stopped hiring the complainant which crippled his transport business.

(2.) The F.I.R. was registered at 10.35 pm, about 2 and half years after the incident. The date of occurrence is not mentioned. The writ petitioner applied for bail before the Magistrate and the same was allowed on the 19th of July, 2021. Ex-facie appears to this Court that the said order granting bail was passed in a slipshod manner even without consulting with the case diary.

(3.) On 28th of July, 2021, the Investigation Officer (IO) applied for cancellation of bail stating that the petitioner was threatening witnesses. The Magistrate recorded in detail the omissions of the IO, inter alia, in not issuing notice under Sec. 41A of the CrPC. It was also found that the statements of the witnesses recorded under Ss. 161 and 164 CrPC did not indicate any such threat or intimidation. Prayer for recording statements under Sec. 164 was not made, which has also been recorded. The Magistrate strangely however went on to find that the petitioner was guilty of threatening such witnesses. Hence, the petitioner's bail was cancelled on the 28th of July,2021. The order of the Magistrate is set out herein below :-