The Calcutta High Court, in a recent judgment delivered by Justice Suvra Ghosh on May 2, 2025, quashed criminal proceedings against Asish Kumar Sen, a man booked 25 years ago for alleged theft and house trespass in a property-related dispute. The case, stemming from a complaint lodged in 1999, was dismissed as the Court found no substantive evidence to justify his prosecution.
"The petitioner having suffered the ordeal of trial for considerable period of time should not be made to suffer further due to continuation of the proceeding against him."
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Asish Kumar Sen, also known as Bapi, had approached the High Court challenging the order passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, 7th Court, Howrah, on January 9, 2024, which refused to discharge him under Section 239 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The allegations date back to June 20, 1998, when the complainant—claiming tenancy rights in a disputed property—alleged dispossession in violation of a status quo order issued a day earlier.
Sen, who was then the Secretary of the Gangnanchal Shop and Office Owners Welfare Association and owned four shops in the Gangnanchal Commercial Complex, was accused solely based on his presence at the site during the incident. The complaint claimed that removed furniture was kept in his school premises. However, there was no direct involvement or overt act attributed to him.
"Even if the case made out by the prosecution is taken on its face value, no offence is disclosed against the petitioner."
The defacto complainant had also been engaged in a long-standing civil dispute with the landlords, Kishore Kumar Khaitan and Rekha Khaitan, over the validity of a lease agreement. This led to multiple litigations, including a title suit and an appeal that reached the Supreme Court. The apex court, in 2006, found no valid basis for the complainant's possession claim and ordered restitution in favor of the landlords.
Throughout the years, the case against Sen saw no significant development. The FIR was lodged eight months after the incident, and although the charge sheet was submitted in 2001, charges were never framed. Several prosecution witnesses were untraceable, deceased, or too ill to testify.
"If prima facie material is found against the accused in a particular case, the proceedings cannot be quashed merely on the ground of delay… Herein, no offence as alleged having been made out against the petitioner either in the FIR or in course of investigation."
The prosecution's claims, such as the petitioner's presence and phone records with Khaitan, were deemed insufficient to infer criminal conspiracy or any specific involvement. The Court emphasized that civil disputes should not be given a criminal color and noted that Sen had no role in the tenancy litigation.
Ultimately, invoking Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a speedy trial, the Court concluded that continuing the proceedings would amount to misuse of judicial process. The case, G.R. No. 249 of 1999, was thus quashed as against the petitioner.
Case: Asish Kumar Sen @ Bapi v/s. The State of West Bengal & Anr.
Case No: C.R.R. 968 of 2024
