The division judge bench of Justice M.R. Shah and Justice C.T. Ravikumar of the Apex court in the case of Central Bureau Investigation Vs Vikas Mishra @ Vikash Mishra held that there cannot be any police custody beyond 15 days from the date of arrest.
Brief facts:
The factual matrix of the case is that the FIR was registered by the CBI against the officials of Eastern Coalfield Limited, CISF, Railways, and others for the commission of offenses under sections 120B/409 of the IPC and the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Thereafter, the respondent got arrested and remanded to CBI custody for a period of seven days. However, during the period of remand to the CBI custody, the respondent could not be interrogated by the CBI as he was admitted to the hospital. Furthermore, he was released on bail by the special court which was later on cancelled on the ground that he didn’t cooperate with the investigation conducted by the CBI. After being arrested again and remanded back to custody, the respondent got admitted again to the hospital.
The respondent filed an application under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. on the ground of non-filing of the charge sheet/report within the prescribed period of 90 days. However, the special judge dismissed the application. Thereafter, the respondent preferred an application before the High Court and the High Court allowed the application and directed to release the respondent on statutory bail under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. Due to this, the CBI preferred the present appeal.
Contentions of the CBI:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the CBI submitted that the CBI got the police custody remand for 7 days. However, the Respondent got himself admitted to the hospital, and the interim bail which was granted to the Respondent was subsequently canceled on 08.12.21. therefore, the CBI could not exercise the police custody remand. Furthermore, it was prayed to grant the police custody remand for the period of 7 days which couldn’t exercise earlier.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent submitted that police custody beyond the period of 15 days from the date of arrest is not allowed. It was further submitted that the health of the Respondent got deteriorated due to which he had to be admitted to the hospital by the police agency itself. So, the submission made by the investigating agency that the accused got himself admitted to the hospital with the intention to evade his custody cannot be accepted.
Observations of the court:
The Hon’ble Apex Court observed that there cannot be any police custody while the person is out on bail or interim bail. As a result, the CBI was denied the right to question the respondent-accused for 7 days while in police custody. After that, the accused spent a portion of the interim bail, which was periodically extended, in the hospital. Following that, the learned Special Court revoked the interim bail, observing that the respondent accused had abused the bail, had refused to assist the CBI in its investigation, and had been hospitalized for no legitimate reason. The learned Special Judge said that it was necessary to question the accused while they were in police custody due to their lack of cooperation.
It was further observed that there cannot be any police custody beyond 15 days from the date of arrest.
It was noted that the Respondent had fully neglected the full execution of the order of police custody passed by the learned Special judge. No accused may interfere with the inquiry or the legal procedure. No accused person may be permitted to obstruct the legal system through their actions. It is undeniable that the right to a custodial interrogation or investigation is a crucial one for the investigating team to obtain the facts, a right that the accused has deliberately and successfully attempted to obstruct. So, by denying the CBI access to the police custody interview for the remaining seven days, it will be rewarding an accused who has been successful in obstructing the legal system.
After taking into consideration that pursuant to an order dated 16.04.2021 passed by the learned Special Judge the police custody remand of seven days of the respondent-accused was granted, however, for the reasons stated above, the CBI could interrogate the respondent-accused only for a period of two and half days and therefore could not exercise the right of interrogation for the full period of seven days of police custody remand. The Hon’ble Top Court was of the view that the appellant-CBI is permitted to have the police custody remand of the respondent for a period of four days.
The decision of the court:
With the above direction, the Hon’ble Apex Court allowed the present appeal.
Case Title: Central Bureau Investigation Vs Vikas Mishra @ Vikash Mishra
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah and Hon’ble Mr. Justice C.T. Ravikumar
Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 957 of 2023
Citation: 2023 Latest Caselaw 295 SC
Advocates for Appellant: Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General, Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G., Mr. Vatsal Joshi, Adv., Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv., Ms. Ameyavikrama Thanvi, Adv., Ms. Deepabali Dutta, Adv., Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR
Advocates for the Respondent: Mr. Rajat Sehgal, AOR, Mr. Abhir Datt, Adv., Mr. Samyak Jain, Adv., Mr. Debayan Gangopadhyay, Adv, Ms. Aarzoo Aneja, Adv.
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