Default bail right ends once the prosecution files a complaint first; bail granted on that basis can be cancelled.
The indefeasible right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure survives only until the prosecution files the complaint or charge-sheet, and it is lost if the filing occurs before the accused has effectively availed of that right. Here, the accused moved for bail on the 181st day, but an additional complaint with further materials and investigation details had already been filed the same day before the application was taken up. The court held that the timing of court hours could not give the bail application priority over the filing, so the default-bail right had not crystallised. Bail granted on that basis was therefore liable to cancellation under Section 439(2).
Issues: Whether the accused had already availed of the right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the prosecution filed the additional complaint, and whether the bail granted on that basis was liable to be cancelled under Section 439(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Analysis: The accused applied for bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the 181st day, but the prosecution filed an additional complaint on the same date before the application was taken up and supported it with further materials, additional accused, and further investigation details. The governing principle is that the indefeasible right to default bail survives only if it has been truly availed of before filing of the complaint or charge-sheet; once the prosecution has filed the complaint before effective availing of that right, the right stands extinguished. The timing of sitting hours could not be used to give one filing precedence over the other in the manner adopted by the Special Court, and the court below failed to consider the effect of the additional complaint.
Conclusion: The accused had not effectively secured an enforceable default-bail right before the additional complaint was filed, and the bail granted by the Special Court was liable to be cancelled.
Final Conclusion: The cancellation petition was allowed and the accused was directed to be taken into custody forthwith.
Ratio Decidendi: The right to default bail under Section 167(2) is enforceable only until filing of the complaint or charge-sheet, and if the prosecution files the complaint before the accused has effectively availed of that right, the right is extinguished and bail granted on that basis may be cancelled under Section 439(2).
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