New Delhi, Aug 8 (NationPress) The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition submitted by the CBI requesting a reconsideration of its previous ruling. This ruling asserts that an investigative body cannot submit a charge sheet or prosecution complaint prior to the completion of the investigation, as this would undermine the right to default bail for an arrested individual. "After thoroughly reviewing the review petition and related documents, we see no valid grounds to consider the review request. Therefore, the review petition is dismissed," stated a bench led by CJI B.R. Gavai and Justice M.M. Sundresh.

In a decision rendered in April 2023, a bench comprising Justices Krishna Murari and C.T. Ravikumar determined that a charge sheet submitted without concluding the investigation cannot infringe upon an accused’s right to default bail. The court affirmed that the right to default bail is not merely a statutory privilege under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), but a fundamental right derived from Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

If an investigating agency files a charge sheet without finishing its investigation, the trial court cannot continue to remand the detained individual beyond the legally permitted duration without granting default bail, the Supreme Court emphasized.

The Supreme Court highlighted that the practice of submitting incomplete charge sheets has evolved into a method of filing charge sheets without finalizing the investigation, merely to obstruct the right to default bail.

"Should we accept that charge sheets can be filed without the investigation's completion, allowing them to prolong remands, it would essentially nullify the intent behind introducing Section 167(2) of the CrPC, leading to violations of the fundamental rights of accused individuals," it stated.

This ruling was prompted by a writ petition from Ritu Chhabaria, who sought her husband's release after he was detained by the CBI and held beyond the designated time without a full investigation being concluded.

The petition contended that the ongoing submission of piecemeal supplementary charge sheets was a tactic to hinder his release on default bail.

In May 2023, a two-judge bench, including then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, issued an interim order instructing courts nationwide to postpone hearings on applications related to the Ritu Chhabaria ruling, following a request from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to retract the decision. The enforcement of this interim order has been continuously extended.