1. The applicants are the accused in a case arising out of C.R. No. I – 63/2013 of Sheel Dahighar Police Station, Thane. The said C.R. was initially registered in respect of offences punishable under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 304 of IPC, Section 337 of IPC, Section 338 of IPC read with Section 34 of IPC. The applicants were arrested on 06.04.2013 by the Crime Branch, Thane and were produced before the Magistrate on 07.04.2013 for obtaining their remand in police custody. In the course of investigation, the accusation of some other offences also came to be levelled against the applicants and other accused in this case.

On 06.06.2013, when the investigation was still pending, the applicants applied for bail on the ground that the maximum period of detention pending investigation, as permitted by Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) was over, and that, since the investigation was still incomplete, the applicants were entitled to be released on bail, mandatorily, as per the proviso to subsection (2) of Section 167 of the Code. This application filed by the applicants and the other accused was heard by