The Supreme Court has stated that an accused is not entitled to default bail simply because the investigation against other co-accused is ongoing or the charge sheet submitted by the investigating agency is not comprehensive. This declaration came as the Court revoked the bail previously granted to ex-DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan in the extensive bank loan fraud case.
Supreme Court on Wednesday (Jan 24) of India clarified the conditions under which an accused can seek default bail, significantly impacting legal proceedings in criminal cases. The Court held that an accused cannot claim the right to default bail merely because the investigation against other co-accused is still pending or the charge-sheet filed is incomplete.
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This decision came while the Supreme Court was adjudicating an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the judgment of the Delhi High Court, which had upheld the Trial Court’s order granting default bail to Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in a multi-crore fraud case involving the misappropriation of funds received as loans from a consortium of banks led by Union Bank of India.
The Bench, comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, noted that the non-filing of a charge-sheet within the prescribed time period does indeed create a statutory right for an accused to be released on default bail under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.). However, this right ceases to exist once a charge-sheet, even if not detailing all aspects of the offence, is filed against the accused.
The Court observed,
“The benefit of proviso appended to sub-section (2) of Section 167 of the Code would be available to the offender only when a chargesheet is not filed and the investigation is kept pending against him. Once however, a chargesheet is filed, the said right ceases.”
During the proceedings, SV Raju, Additional Solicitor General representing the CBI, argued that the accused’s right to claim default bail ceases once the charge sheet is filed and cognizance is taken by the magistrate. In contrast, Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Amit Desai, representing the accused, contended that the right to default bail could be exercised if the charge-sheet submitted was incomplete.
The Court further clarified,
“Once from the material produced along with the chargesheet, the court is satisfied about the commission of an offence and takes cognizance of the offence allegedly committed by the accused, it is immaterial whether the further investigation in terms of Section 173(8) is pending or not. The pendency of the further investigation qua the other accused or for production of some documents not available at the time of filing of chargesheet would neither vitiate the chargesheet, nor would it entitle the accused to claim right to get default bail on the ground that the chargesheet was an incomplete chargesheet or that the chargesheet was not filed in terms of Section 173(2) of Cr.P.C.”
This ruling overturns the decision of the Trial Court that granted default bail to the Wadhawan Brothers. It also aligns with the Supreme Court’s earlier stance in the case of Ritu Chhabaria v. Union of India, where it was held that an investigating officer cannot file an incomplete charge-sheet to defeat the right to default bail. However, a larger bench led by the Chief Justice of India later directed that Trial Courts should not grant default bail based on the Ritu Chhabaria judgment, which Central Agencies sought to be recalled.
The case, titled “Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr.”, is a significant precedent in the legal landscape of India, clarifying the nuances of default bail and the rights of the accused in the context of ongoing investigations and charge-sheet filings.
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