The Gauhati High Court granted bail to Dr. Sangeeta Dutta — who had been accused of abusing a minor foster child — after finding that her arrest in 2023 had violated mandatory procedural safeguards under the law. The accused had been arrested along with her husband, Dr. Waliul Islam, and others, on charges of alleged torture and sexual abuse of children.
The Court observed that she had been arrested at around 1 a.m. without obtaining the required prior permission from a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class — a requirement under the statute when a woman is to be arrested between sunset and sunrise. This mandatory safeguard, prescribed by law, was not complied with in her case. The Court found no record of any permission either in the arrest paperwork or submitted during the hearing. As a result, the arrest was ruled “illegal.”
Beyond the timing issue, the Court also noted additional procedural violations: Dr. Dutta was not suitably informed of the grounds of her arrest, in breach of constitutional protections for arrested persons. The arrest memo lacked attestation by an independent witness — another legal requirement under the procedure for arrest. There was also no evidence that her relatives or any person nominated by her had been notified of her arrest, as required under the law.
Given these cumulative failures — non-compliance with statutory provisions and constitutional guarantees — the Court held that the custody was unsustainable in law. It treated the arrest as having been invalid, thereby entitling her to bail.
In granting bail, the Court also took note of the prolonged period of pretrial detention — more than two and a half years — during which the trial had made minimal progress: only a fraction of the listed prosecution witnesses had been examined. The sluggish pace weighed in favor of release of the accused.
Consequently, Dr. Sangeeta Dutta was ordered to be released on bail on furnishing the required bail bond and sureties. The bail terms include conditions such as cooperating with the trial, appearing before the court when summoned, refraining from contacting victims or informants, not influencing witnesses, surrendering certain identity documents, and remaining within the jurisdiction of the trial court unless permission is granted for travel.
The order came nearly three weeks after Dr. Waliul Islam — the co-accused husband — had been granted bail by a coordinate bench of the High Court. Thus the Court’s decision reflects that, despite the serious allegations under laws dealing with child abuse and sexual offences, procedural violations at the time of arrest may render continued detention untenable, and may justify bail.
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