New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has intervened to restore the bail of petitioner Sujit Santra, setting aside a Calcutta High Court order that had recalled his bail due to absence of representation.
A bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra heard the Special Leave Petition challenging the High Court’s decision to revoke the petitioner’s bail after more than 20 years.
The case involves a Special Leave Petition filed by Sujit Santra against the State of West Bengal. The Court noted, “The petitioner has moved before this Court being aggrieved by the impugned order dated 22.05.2024 passed by the High Court of Calcutta in CRA No. 301 of 2002, by which, due to the non-representation of the petitioner before the High Court on that day, the order dated 21.01.2003 suspending the sentence and releasing the petitioner on bail was recalled.”
The Supreme Court found merit in the petitioner’s argument, observing, “From the record, it appears that it was not a regular affair, as on past occasions, either the petitioner himself was present or was represented through learned counsel. Moreover, we find that the appeal was listed before the High Court and taken up after a gap of more than twenty years — i.e., from 2003 to 2024.”
Emphasizing the impropriety of the High Court’s decision, the bench stated, “Having considered the matter, we find that the High Court ought not to have passed the order, that too solely for the reason that none had appeared on behalf of the petitioner.”
In its directive, the Court declared, “The impugned order dated 22.05.2024, recalling the suspension of sentence and release of the petitioner on bail, cannot be sustained and is accordingly set aside. The order dated 21.01.2003 passed by the High Court, suspending the sentence and releasing the petitioner on bail in the pending appeal, stands confirmed and is made absolute.”
The Supreme Court further mandated that the petitioner must ensure proper representation at all future hearings, stating, “We make it clear that since the appeal is of the year 2002, the petitioner shall ensure that he is represented on each and every date fixed in the matter before the High Court.”
Ms. Paromita Majumdar, AOR, Mr. Pinak Kumar Mitra, Ms. Meenakshi Vimal, and Ms. Ankita Shrivastava, Advocates, appeared for the petitioner, while Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR, and Ms. Shraddha Chirania, Advocate, represented the State of West Bengal.
Case Title: Sujit Santra @ Sujit Kumar Santra vs. State of West Bengal
