TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2012 (10) TMI 1217
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.... CR No.86 of 2012, were also stayed till the next date of hearing and the matter was directed to be listed on 9th October, 2012. By a subsequent order dated 6th July, 2012, the High Court modified its earlier order and directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to extend the remand of the accused and to take cognizance of offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. By yet another order dated 6th August, 2012, the High Court rejected the Appellant's prayer for early hearing of the matter indicating that in view of the heavy board of the Court it was not possible to accommodate the Appellant's request for early hearing. 4. Although, the Special Leave Petition was directed against the said three orders, during the hearing thereof, another question of substantial importance surfaced when on behalf of the Appellant an application, being Crl. M.A. No.19883-85 of 2012 for grant of statutory bail under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. was filed, and was taken up for hearing along with the appeal. 5. Appearing in support of the Appeals, Mr. Mehmood Pracha, learned Advocate, urged that on 13th February, 2012, the police registered FIR No.4 of 2012 in respect of offences alleged to....
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....made under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. on 17th July, 2012, seeking default bail as no charge-sheet had been filed within the 90 day period of the Appellant's custody. The said application was dismissed by the learned Magistrate despite the observations made by the Additional Sessions Judge in his order of 8th June, 2012. 10. The matter was, thereafter, referred by the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to the District and Sessions Judge who directed that the judicial custody of the Appellant be extended till 3rd July, 2012. On 30th June, 2012, without serving any notice to the Appellant, the State filed Crl. M.C. No.2180 of 2012 under Section 482 Cr.P.C. before the High Court questioning the validity of the order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge on 8th June, 2012. By its order dated 2nd July, 2012, the High Court stayed the observations of the Additional Sessions Judge, Central II, Delhi, in CR No.86 of 2012. The Appellant's application for grant of statutory bail could not, therefore, be taken up by the Additional Sessions Judge till the High Court on 13th July, 2012, vacated the stay in respect of the proceedings in CR No.86 of 2012, subject to an undertaking to be ....
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....ly hearing, on which the High Court made the observation that on account of the heavy board of the Court it was not possible to accommodate the request for early hearing and the matter was renotified to 9th October, 2012, which is the impugned order in these appeals. 15. Appearing for the Appellant, Mr. Mehmood Pracha, learned Advocate, contended that once the period of 90 days, as stipulated under clause (a)(i) of the proviso to Subsection (2) of Section 167 Cr.P.C., came to an end, the right of a person arrested in connection with the commission of an offence to be released on statutory bail commenced and could not be extinguished by a subsequent application for extension of the period of custody. Mr. Pracha submitted that on 17th July, 2012, the Appellant's custody was held to be illegal by the Additional Sessions Judge in CR No.86 of 2012 and on the same day, the Appellant's application under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. was pending hearing before the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who, however, did not hear the application and renotified the hearing for 18th July, 2012. The fact that the application stood renotified for the next day, did not take away the fact that the appl....
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....ice officer making the investigation under this Act, requests, for the purposes of investigation, for police custody from judicial custody of any person in judicial custody, he shall file an affidavit stating the reasons for doing so and shall also explain the delay, if any, for requesting such police custody.". 17. By virtue of the aforesaid modification to the provisions of Section 167(2) Cr.P.C., the period of 90 days stipulated for completion of investigation and filing of charge-sheet, was modified by virtue of the amended proviso, which indicated that if the investigation could not be completed within 90 days and if the Court was satisfied with the report of the Public Prosecutor indicating the progress of the investigation and the specific reasons for detention of the accused beyond the period of 90 days, extend the said period upto 180 days. In other words, the custody of an accused could be directed initially for a period of 90 days and, thereafter, for a further period of 90 days, in all a total of 180 days, for the purpose of filing charge-sheet. In the event the charge-sheet was not filed even within the extended period of 180 days, the conditions directing that the ac....
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....neral, Mr. Harin P. Raval, contended that there had been no breach of the provisions of Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. as the right of the Appellant for grant of statutory bail stood extinguished once the application for extension of the time for completing investigation had been filed by the prosecution on 18th July, 2012. Mr. Raval contended that it was settled law that if an accused did not avail of the remedy contemplated under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. before the charge-sheet was filed, such right was no longer indefeasible and was rendered nugatory upon filing of the charge-sheet. 22. In support of his submissions, the learned Additional Solicitor General referred to the Constitution Bench decision of this Court in the case of Sanjay Dutt (supra), wherein the aforesaid proposition of law was considered. The learned Additional Solicitor General submitted that it had been held by the Constitution Bench that in matters relating to the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, default in completion of investigation within 180 days gave the accused an indefeasible right to bail, but the time of default continues till the filing of the challan, but does not survive thereaft....