Shivani Pandey-
Published on: 19 August, 2021 at 11:36 IST
The Supreme Court held that ‘custody’ as defined in Section 170 of CrPC does not regard either Police or Judicial Custody rather an only presentation of the accused by the Investigating Officer in front of the Court while filing the chargesheet.
A Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Krishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy stated that “We are of the view that if the Investigating Officer does not believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons he/she is not required to be produced in custody while filing chargesheet”.
The Apex Court was presented with a Plea against a judgment of Allahabad High Court which had denied the Anticipatory Bail Plea of the accused.
The Court observed that “The accused having cooperated throughout with the Investigation, we fail to appreciate why there should be a compulsion on the Officer to arrest the accused”.
The Court also scrutinized the Scope of Section 170 and various other High Court Judgements with regards to the matter at hand.
The Court placed reliance on a Delhi High Court Judgment in Court On its Own Motion v. Central Bureau of Investigation.
“The Delhi High Court is not alone in having adopted this view and other High Courts have also followed suit on the proposition that Criminal Courts cannot refuse to accept a chargesheet simply because the accused has not been arrested and produced before the Court,” the Court observed.
Thus, the Supreme Court denied the High Court order and allowed the Appeal.
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Also Read: Indian Penal Code & Code of Criminal Procedure: Recent Landmark Judgements