Summary
The Supreme Court held that the investigating agency's failure to file additional copies of the chargesheet for supply to the accused under Section 193(8) BNSS does not vitiate the police report and does not give rise to default bail under Section 187(3). The right to default bail arises only when no chargesheet in the form required by Section 193(3) is filed within the 60 or 90 days allowed, and it ends once such a chargesheet is filed.
Issues
- Whether a chargesheet filed in time but without the additional copies required by Section 193(8) of the BNSS entitles the accused to default bail under Section 187(3).
- Whether the requirement to file copies for supply to the accused, read with the fourteen-day timeline in Section 230 BNSS, is mandatory so that non-compliance revives the right to default bail.
Provisions considered
- Section 187(3), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023Compared with Section 167(2) CrPC and held to be substantially identical in import. The right to default bail under it arises only when the chargesheet is not filed within 60 or 90 days, and it ceases once a chargesheet is filed in time. (¶¶ 16, 19, 23, 26)
- Section 193(3) and 193(8), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023Section 193(3) prescribes the form of the police report. Section 193(8) is a new requirement for the investigating officer to submit copies of the report and indexed documents to the Magistrate for supply to the accused. The Court held that non-compliance with sub-section (8) does not vitiate a report that complies with sub-section (3) and cannot have the effect of Section 187(3). (¶¶ 17, 19, 23, 26)
- Section 230, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023Noted as fixing a fourteen-day limit from production or appearance for the Magistrate to supply the police report and documents to the accused. The appellant relied on it to argue that Section 193(8) is mandatory, but the Court held that the supply obligation has no bearing on default bail. (¶¶ 13, 18, 19, 27)
- Sections 167(2), 173(2), 173(5) and 207, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973The predecessor provisions were compared with the BNSS. Following R.S. Pai and Narendra Kumar Amin, Section 173(5) is directory, and a report under Section 173(2) filed in time, even without all documents, defeats a claim to default bail. (¶¶ 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25)
- Article 21, Constitution of IndiaThe Court reiterated that the right to default bail is an indefeasible right flowing from Article 21, though it is conditional on the investigation still being pending. (¶¶ 20, 21)
Held
- Default bail is an indefeasible right flowing from Article 21. It is granted not on the merits but because the investigating agency failed to file a chargesheet within the prescribed 60 or 90 days, and its purpose is to prevent laxity in investigation. The right ends once the chargesheet is filed in time. (¶¶ 20, 21)
- Section 187(3) BNSS and Section 167(2) CrPC are substantially identical in import. Under the BNSS, as under the CrPC, the right to default bail arises only if the chargesheet is not filed within the statutory period, and ends once a chargesheet in the form prescribed by Section 193(3) is filed within that period. (¶¶ 19, 23)
- Failure to file the additional copies of the chargesheet required by Section 193(8) BNSS for supply to the accused does not vitiate the police report and cannot be equated with non-filing under Section 187(3). Following Kapil Wadhawan, R.S. Pai and Narendra Kumar Amin, an omission to file all documents or copies with an otherwise complete chargesheet does not entitle the accused to default bail. (¶¶ 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27)
- Here the chargesheet was filed in time on 02.09.2025 in compliance with Section 193(3), and cognizance had been taken without challenge, so the right to default bail was extinguished and the appellant had to seek regular bail. His pending regular bail application is to be decided on its own merits, independently of this appeal. (¶¶ 26, 28)
Result
Appeal dismissed; the High Court's order refusing default bail affirmed; the appellant's regular bail application to be considered on its own merits, independent of the observations in this judgment.