Anticipatory bail remains maintainable after charge sheet filing where no arrest has occurred and no statutory time limit exists.

Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is a beneficent provision protecting personal liberty and the presumption of innocence, and it contains no express temporal restriction on when anticipatory bail may be sought. The Court read the constitutional bench authorities to mean that the remedy remains available so long as the applicant has not been arrested, and the filing of a charge sheet does not by itself extinguish that remedy. It further held that "arrest" cannot be expanded to cover every later appearance or surrender after cognizance, as that would create a restriction not found in the statute. Anticipatory bail remained maintainable after filing of the charge sheet.

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Issues: (i) Whether an application for anticipatory bail is maintainable after the charge sheet has been filed in court.

Analysis: Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a beneficent provision intended to protect personal liberty and the presumption of innocence. The provision does not impose any express restriction limiting the stage up to which an application may be entertained. The Constitution Bench authorities were read to mean that anticipatory bail may be sought so long as the applicant has not been arrested, and the filing of a charge sheet does not by itself extinguish that remedy. The Court also held that the word "arrest" in Section 438 cannot be stretched to include every later appearance or surrender before the court after cognizance, because that would introduce a restriction not found in the statute and would render the provision unduly narrow.

Conclusion: Yes. An application for anticipatory bail remains maintainable even after the charge sheet has been filed in court.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of an express statutory restriction, Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 cannot be confined by judicially created temporal limits, and filing of a charge sheet does not by itself bar an application for anticipatory bail.

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