In a significant development reinforcing the sanctity of an accused’s statutory rights, the Supreme Court has dismissed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) review petition challenging its earlier ruling in the Ritu Chhabaria v. Union of India case. The original verdict, delivered in April 2023, had held that an incomplete chargesheet cannot be used to deny an accused the right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

 

The case arose when Ritu Chhabaria, an accused in a CBI-registered case, sought default bail under the CrPC after the investigation agency failed to file a complete chargesheet within the prescribed 60 or 90-day period. Instead, the CBI filed a supplementary/incomplete chargesheet just to avoid the default bail window.

 

The Supreme Court had, in its original ruling, categorically held that filing of an incomplete chargesheet merely to defeat the accused’s right to default bail is not permissible under law. The Court emphasized that the statutory right to default bail is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.

 

While dismissing the CBI’s review petition, a Bench headed by Justice Krishna Murari (since retired) observed that the law laid down in the original judgment remains sound and unambiguous. The Court reiterated that allowing incomplete chargesheets to nullify the right to bail would open the doors to arbitrary detentions and frustrate the purpose of procedural safeguards guaranteed to the accused.

 

No new legal grounds or substantial error in the April 2023 judgment were found by the Bench, thereby upholding its precedential value.

 

• Section 167(2) CrPC grants an accused the right to default bail if the prosecution fails to file a complete chargesheet within the statutory timeframe (60 or 90 days depending on the offence).

• The Ritu Chhabaria ruling now stands reaffirmed: an “incomplete” chargesheet—filed merely to obstruct the accused from claiming bail—is not valid for this purpose.

 

This decision is a strong reminder to investigative agencies that procedural fairness cannot be compromised, and the law must not be bent to serve expediency.

 

CBI v. Ritu Chhabaria, Review Petition in Criminal Appeal No. 871 of 2023