Recently, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court, in Ritu Chhabria v. Union of India, affirmed an undertrial’s right to be released on default bail in the event of the investigation remaining incomplete and proceeding beyond the statutory time limit. It frowned upon the practice of investigative agencies charge-sheeting an accused despite the investigation being unfinished. It held that the right to be released on bail will not be extinguished on the mere filing of a preliminary charge-sheet. It concluded that an accused’s right to seek default bail would be terminated only upon competition of the investigation within the statutory time limit.
An extraordinary decision
Subsequently, in a surprising turn of events, the Court of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) entertained a recall application moved by the Union of India against this judgment. It then passed an interim order directing courts to decide bail applications without relying on the decision laid down in Ritu Chhabria for a short period of time. In a nutshell, by stripping the decision of the Division Bench of its precedential value even if for a short while, the Court of the CJI indirectly stayed the decision despite not having any connection with the verdict.
