“Irresponsibility, Callousness & Deceit”: Calcutta HC Deals With Multiple Bail Applications In The Same Matter With Iron Hand [Read Order]

Censuring litigants and lawyers for filing multiple bail applications in the same matter, the Calcutta High Court recently dealt with the practice with iron hand.

The bench comprising Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Suvra Ghosh was dealing with three petitioners who had applied for anticipatory bail without disclosing that the High Court had rejected their prayer in March last year.

Another petitioner before it had filed two anticipatory bail applications, in the hope that if one did not succeed, she’d get a second chance with the other one.

The court noted, “The petitioner Nos. 1, 3 and 4 in C.R.M. 10646 of 2018 have glibly applied a second time for anticipatory bail without disclosing that by an order dated March 1, 2017 passed by this Court their prayer stood rejected. As far as the second petitioner in C.R.M. 10646 of 2018 is concerned, this is her first petition, but there is a second petition which appears in the list as C.R.M. 10981 of 2018 and which is in connection with the same complaint case. 

“The only possible inference is that if the second petitioner did not succeed in the first case, there was a parallel matter waiting where she could have another bite of the cherry. Such practice has to be denounced, deprecated and ensured that it stopped as of yesterday.”

Coming down heavily on all these petitioners and their lawyers, the court said that these matters show “a dangerous trend of irresponsibility, callousness and deceit”.

“Some of it probably attaches to the robes that present the petitions,” it added.

Vowing that the petitioners before it would “pay dearly” for the practice, the court then directed them to be taken into custody as expeditiously as possible, making it clear that they will not be entitled to seek bail till the completion of trial and upon discharge or acquittal.

Read the Order Here
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