The Supreme Court has said that without completing the investigation of a case, a chargesheet or prosecution complaint cannot be filed by an investigating agency only to deprive an arrested accused of his right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC.
Key facts
- Such a chargesheet, if filed by an investigating authority without first completing the investigation, would not extinguish the right to default bail under Section 167(2) CrPC.
- Section 167 says that an arrested person will be entitled to default bail after 90 days in cases where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years and 60 days, where the investigation relates to any other offence.
- The top court held that “the relief of statutory bail under Section 167(2) of the Cr.PC, in our opinion, is a fundamental right directly flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the violation of such a right, as mentioned above, directly attracts consideration under Article 32 of the Constitution”.
