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Calcutta High Court Grants Bail to Murder Accused Suffering From Schizophrenia After Serving Five Years in Jail
The Calcutta High Court recently granted bail to a schizophrenic murder suspect after spending nearly five years in prison without trial.
A two-judge bench of Justices Ajay Kumar Gupta and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order and submitted a medical report filed by a panel of well-known psychiatric advisors that found the petitioner unfit to face trial. The bench further recorded that a medical report filed by a learned attorney appearing for the state will be filed, indicating that the petitioner cannot face the process and he needs medical assistance.
Advocates Phiroze Edulji and M Rajnandini Das appeared for the petitioner while the State was represented by advocates Sudip Ghosh and Apurba Kumar Datta.
The High Court also ordered that once the board proves that an appellant is fit to stand trial, the trial court can order him to appear and proceed further with the matter. The court obtained the Medical Association's report in November to assess the petitioner's condition and determine whether he had violent tendencies.
According to the petition, the petitioner said he was arrested on murder charges in January 2017 and denied bail twice in the High Court and once in the Sessions court. According to the plea, he has been suffering from schizophrenia since 2014 and was thus represented by his father. The petitioner contended that a medical board had been constituted in 2019 to ascertain his mental illness. The board had opined that his examination could not be done since he was uncooperative, but he was not fit to stand trial at that stage.
Additionally, the plea highlighted that the investigation in the case was complete; therefore, further custodial detention of the petitioner was unnecessary. Also, he assured the Court that he would abide by any terms imposed by the court and would not interfere with the trial in any way. Considering the medical board’s report, the division bench agreed to release the petitioner on bail on furnishing a bond of? 10,000 executed by his father, with two sureties.
Refer to the Order for details.
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