In Brief
Bikash Manna challenged the High Court's denial of pre-arrest bail protection under Section 438(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code in a case registered at Police Station Damjur, Howrah. The de-facto complainant, having initially objected, later consented to withdraw the court-deposited amount of Rs. 10 lakhs with interest and withdrew his objection to granting bail. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and granted pre-arrest bail protection: if arrested, the appellant must be released on bail by the Investigating Officer on a bond of Rs. 25,000/- with two sureties of the same amount, subject to cooperation with investigation and other Section 438(2) conditions.
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