The High Court of Delhi has observed that police cannot be allowed to file its report without completing the probe, just for the sole purpose of defeating the right to statutory bail granted to the accused under the Constitution.
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma recently noted that the basic concept to fulfil the provision of Section 167 was that the charge sheet has to be filed upon completion of investigation.
It said though police had a right to conduct further investigation, but merely filing the report in the garb of further probe could not fulfil the basic purpose and intention of the legislature as provided under Section 167 of CrPC.
The Single-Judge Bench further noted that the investigating agency, in its ‘anxiety’ of keeping the accused in custody, may take a plea that the probe was complete, however, the best judge should be the concerned trial court.
It said the Court was the guardian of rights bestowed upon the accused and that strict compliance of the procedure was necessary to protect the fundamental rights of an individual.
Dismissing the petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against default bail to former Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan in the alleged bank loan scam case, the High Court said that at this stage, it cannot minutely appreciate the evidence, so as to ascertain whether the same was ‘sufficient’ or not.
Talking about Section 167(2) of CrPC, it said the same must be interpreted bearing in mind the three-fold objectives of the legislature, which were ensuring a fair trial, expeditious investigation as well as trial and establishing a rationalised procedure that ‘protected’ the interests of the indigent strata of society.
As per the High Court, these objects essentially served as components of the overarching fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.