Statutory bail under CrPC section 167(2) arises when investigation remains incomplete and no valid police report is filed.

An incomplete challan does not amount to a police report under section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, because it shows that investigation is still continuing. A Magistrate cannot take cognizance under section 190(1)(d) until a valid police report is filed, and section 173(8) cannot be used to avoid the mandatory requirement of completing the investigation under section 173(2). Where investigation is not completed within the prescribed sixty-day period, the proviso to section 167(2) creates a statutory right to bail, and that right is not defeated by forwarding an incomplete challan. The accused were therefore entitled to release on bail.

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Issues: Whether an accused is entitled to bail under the proviso to section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 when the investigation is not completed within sixty days and only an incomplete challan has been forwarded to the Magistrate.

Analysis: The statutory scheme requires completion of investigation before a police report can be forwarded under section 173(2). A 'police report' is a report forwarded under that provision, and an incomplete challan does not satisfy that requirement because it itself shows that investigation is still continuing. Until a valid police report is filed, the Magistrate cannot take cognizance under section 190(1)(d), and section 173(8) cannot be used to bypass the mandatory requirement of section 173(2). The proviso to section 167(2) is intended to prevent prolonged detention where investigation is not completed within the stipulated period.

Conclusion: The accused were entitled to bail because the investigation was not completed within sixty days and no police report was filed within that period; an incomplete challan did not defeat the statutory right to release on bail.

Ratio Decidendi: An incomplete challan does not amount to a police report under section 173(2), and where investigation is not completed within the prescribed period, the accused acquires a statutory right to bail under section 167(2).

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