ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. This is one more case based on a misconception and misunderstanding of Section 170, Cr.P.C.!

3. An FIR No. RC16/S/2014, dated 05.06.2014, at PS, CBI/SCB/SPE, Kolkata was registered and during the investigation, the appellant before us had joined the investigation. The appellant approached this Court out of proceedings arising in respect of the plea seeking grant of anticipatory bail in Criminal Appeal No. 468/2021 which was disposed of on 06.05.2021. The said order reads as under :

“xxxxx

It cannot be disputed that the prosecution did not seek the interrogation of the appellant on or before filing of the charge sheet. Charge sheet has been filed. This being the position, learned counsel for the appellant confines the relief only to appear before the Trial Court and apply for regular bail and he be not arrested in that period of time.

In the given factual situation, we grant protection to the appellant for a period of 8 weeks, within which he may apply for regular bail before the Trial Court and obtain necessary orders.

xxxxxx”

4. A reading of the aforesaid thus makes it clear that custodial interrogation of the appellant was not required during investigation and charge sheet having been filed, there was really no occasion to arrest the appellant. We thus granted liberty to the appellant to appear before the trial Court and apply for regular bail while protecting him during the interregnum period. The present proceedings have arisen out of the requirement of the appellant to seek regular bail in terms aforesaid. Suffice to say that the special Chief Judicial Magistrate (CBI), Bhubaneshwar, vide order dated 22.07.2019 noticed that since the accused persons had been charge sheeted for Economic offences, it was appropriate to issue non-bailable warrants of arrest against the accused, including the appellant before us.

5. The circumstances under which the impugned order was passed and thereafter the appellant approached this Court was noticed in our order dated 28.07.2021. We may notice that what was stated before us was that as per the SOP in these difficult times, the appellant was supposed to join virtually and when he sought to enter appearance, his request was declined by order dated 09.06.2021 by the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (CBI), Bhubaneshwar predicated on the reasoning that he had not remained physically present. It is this order which had been upheld by the impugned judgment dated 09.07.2021. We thus protected the appellant against arrest with the direction to continue to attend the trial Court proceedings virtually in the then prevelent scenario and as and when physical Courts start working, the proceedings would be attended physically.

6. It is not in dispute that the appellant had thereafter joined the proceedings physically as proceedings in the Court commenced accordingly.

7. Learned counsel for the appellant has brought to our attention to the proceedings recorded on 26.08.2021 before the Magistrate to submit that the highhandedness of the respondent is apparent from the fact that the public prosecutor, despite these orders from this Court, sought to plead that the appellant had not been allowed any bail, non bailable warrants had been issued against him, the direction of this Court for the appellant not to be arrested did not mean that he could not be sent to judicial custody and since this Court observed that he could attend virtually till physical hearing started, which had by then resumed, he should be sent to judicial custody. We may only note all these submissions are completely inappropriate and indefensible. Neither did the learned Additional Solicitor General seek to contend except stating that those are only submissions. We expect a public prosecutor to be conscious of the legal position and fair while making submissions before the Court. We say no more as at least the Chief Judicial Magistrate understood the order clearly and thus did not agree with the submission of the public