The Supreme Court, in a recent decision on January 24, addressed the issue of whether an accused could seek default bail when the investigation is ongoing against other co-accused. The court ruled against this possibility, emphasizing that the statutory right to default bail cannot be invoked once a chargesheet has been filed against the accused.
The court clarified that the accused cannot claim the right to be released on default bail based on the grounds of an incomplete chargesheet or ongoing investigation against other co-accused. The judges emphasized that while it is generally expected that all documents relied upon by the prosecution should accompany the chargesheet, the absence of some documents does not invalidate or vitiate the chargesheet.
In the court's opinion, taking cognizance of the offense is paramount, and it is not dependent on the inclusion of all details or documents at the time of filing the chargesheet. The court referred to Section 175(5), stating that a report is considered complete if it is accompanied by all necessary documents and statements of witnesses.
The court overturned the findings of both the High Court and the Trial Court, asserting that the right to default bail, as provided in Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.), arises only when a chargesheet is not filed and the investigation is pending against the accused. Once a chargesheet is filed, even if it does not contain all the details of the offense, the right to default bail ceases.
The judgment stemmed from an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the Delhi High Court's decision, which upheld the Trial Court's order granting default bail to Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan. The case involved allegations of multi-crore siphoning off and misappropriation of funds received as a loan from a consortium of banks led by Union Bank of India.
The court highlighted that the accused could only avail themselves of the right to be released on default bail if the chargesheet is not filed within the prescribed time or if an investigation is pending against them. However, once a chargesheet is duly submitted with the required documents and statements of witnesses under Section 175(5), the grounds for the accused to exercise the right of default bail are eliminated.
The court concluded that when the court takes cognizance of the offense based on the materials produced with the chargesheet, the pendency of further investigation regarding other accused or the production of additional documents does not vitiate the chargesheet. Therefore, the accused cannot claim the right to default bail on the grounds of an incomplete chargesheet or non-compliance with Section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C.
In summary, the Supreme Court's decision clarified that the right to default bail is contingent on the absence of a chargesheet and an ongoing investigation against the accused. Once a chargesheet is filed, even if incomplete, the right to default bail no longer applies, and the accused cannot use the grounds of incompleteness or pending investigations to claim this right.
TAGS: Supreme Court default bail chargesheet ongoing investigation accused rights Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. Section 175(5) Cr.P.C.
