Cancellation of default bail under Section 167(2) of CRPC

[Anonymous]

If default bail has been granted to the accused by the magistrate in a case under Section 167(2) of CrPC since the police failed to submit charge sheet in 2 months time as required, then can this bail be cancelled by the magistrate automatically after the police filed charge sheet in court just 3 days after the time limit of 2 months? Since the bail was not on merit but failure to submit charge sheet in 2 months, now that the charge sheet is filed in 2 months and 3 days, whether the default bail be cancelled automatically by magistrate or an application is to be filed by complainant or police?

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

Once bail is granted to a person, it cannot be cancelled lightly without application of mind, even if it is default bail. There is no provision in Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code that if default bail has been granted under Section 167(2) due to non-submission of charge sheet by police within the stipulated prescribed period of time, it would be automatically cancelled or that the magistrate would be under obligation to cancel such bail in a mechanical manner. There is no such provision in law.

Even if bail has been granted not on merits, but on the basis of charge sheet not being submitted within prescribed time, it is like any other regular bail. Such default bail can also be cancelled only on the same considerations as is done in the case of a regular bail. It cannot be cancelled automatically on submission of charge sheet. Even such bail can also be cancelled on specific grounds, such as violation of the bail conditions, threatening or influencing the witnesses, destroying evidence or absconding from the process of law, etc.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

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