Chargesheet not having authority's valid sanction no ground for grant of default bail under Section 167 CrPC: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday held that an accused is not entitled to default bail under 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on the ground that the chargesheet filed within time period does not have valid sanction of authority. [Jasbir Singh vs National Investigation Agency].A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala held that whether sanction is required or not is to be considered during the stage of taking cognizance of the offence, and it cannot be said that taking sanction from authority is part of the prosecution process. Hence, it found no merit in the argument that chargesheet without sanction is not a valid chargesheet."Whether sanction is required or not is to be considered during taking cognizance of offence. Prosecution starts when cognizance of offence is taken and it cannot be said that taking sanction from authority is part of the prosecution," the Court said.."We have held that sanction is not a part of chargesheet and investigation agency has nothing to do with sanction," Justice Pardiwala clarified..The Court was hearing appeals by five accused charged with offences under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 18, 19, 18B and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive substances Act.The appeals were against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that refused to release them on default bail under Section 167(2) of CrPC..It was the appellants' contention that a chargesheet filed without sanction is an incomplete chargesheet and does not meet the requirement of a police report within the meaning of Section 173(2) of the CrPC. They contended that such a chargesheet would also not be in consonance with sub section (5) of Section 173 of the CrPC..On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain opposed the appeals, stating that it was settled law that the right under section 167(2) of the CrPC accrues to an accused only if the chargesheet is not filed within the prescribed time period, or within the time extended by a competent court..The Court, based on its decision in Suresh Kumar Bhikamchand Jain v. State of Maharashtra and Anr., asserted that once the chargesheet has been filed within stipulated time, the question of grant of default bail does not arise."Whether cognizance has been taken or not taken is not relevant for the purpose of compliance of Section 167 of the CrPC. The mere filing of the chargesheet is sufficient," the Court explained..The Court noted that the chargesheet was filed after the entire investigation was completed. Thus, it held that filing of a chargesheet was sufficient compliance with provisions of section 167 of CrPC and that the accused could not claim any indefeasible right of being released on default bail on the ground that cognizance was not taken before the expiry of time to file the chargesheet..[Read Judgment]