Section 167(2) custody limits strictly confine police remand to the first fifteen days, with later detention only in judicial custody.

Under Section 167(2) CrPC, police or ED custody can be authorised only within the first fifteen days from the date of first production, and any further detention during investigation must be in judicial custody. The Delhi HC reaffirmed that remand orders must strictly comply with this statutory ceiling and cannot extend police custody beyond that period. On the facts, the impugned order purported to continue custody past the permissible limit, so it was illegal to that extent and was set aside insofar as it authorised remand in excess of fifteen days.

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Issues: Whether the Magistrate/Special Judge could authorise police or ED custody beyond the first fifteen days of custody under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: Section 167(2) permits custody, whether police or judicial, to be authorised from time to time only within the first fifteen days in the whole from the date of first production. After expiry of that period, further detention during investigation can be only in judicial custody. The settled position was reaffirmed by reference to the earlier decisions applying this limitation to remand orders. On the facts, the petitioners had already been produced on 22 August 2017 and the impugned order of 28 August 2017 purported to extend custody in a manner that would take the detention beyond the statutory ceiling. The remand court was required to act judicially and ensure strict compliance with the statutory limit.

Conclusion: The order authorising custody beyond fifteen days was illegal to that extent and was set aside insofar as it permitted remand in excess of the permissible period. The petitioners succeeded on the remand issue.

Final Conclusion: The statutory limit on custody under Section 167(2) was enforced, and the impugned remand could not survive beyond the first fifteen days of custody.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, police custody can be authorised only within the first fifteen days in the whole from the date of first production, and any remand beyond that period can be only to judicial custody.

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