The right to default bail is part of the procedure established by law under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the completeness of the charge-sheet, allowing for cognizance and framing of charges, determines the entitlement to default bail.

JUDGMENT :

Per Chowdhary, J.

1. Appellant herein moved an application for grant of regular bail before the Special Designated Court Under NIA Act Srinagar on 07.02.2022 in a case registered at Police Station Kothibagh vide FIR No. 82/2020 for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 13/18/20/38 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and under Sections 34/121/121-A/120-B/124-A/201/468/506 IPC.

2. On 20.01.2022, charge-sheet was laid against the accused including the appellant herein for the commission of aforementioned offences before the same Court for judicial determination.

3. Appellant preferred another application with additional grounds for grant of bail and by virtue of these additional grounds it was prayed for grant of default bail in his favour. The court below, after seeking objections from the other side, rejected the plea of the appellant vide order dated 19.02.2022 (hereinafter called 'impugned order').

4. The appellant has assailed the impugned order through the medium of this appeal in terms of Section21 of NIA Act mainly on the following grounds:-

(i) That, the learned Special Judge while deciding the application of the appellant, has not considered all the grounds urged in the bail petition and passed the impugned order without considering the grounds and arguments raised before the said court.

(ii) That, the investigating agency had produced an incomplete challan/case before the court below on179th day of the arrest of the appellant/accused when the time prescribed under law for production of charge-sheet was 180 days and in case of non-production of challan, right to seek default bail would accrue to the appellant/accused.

(iii) That, in order to defeat his right to seek default bail, the respondent-investigating agency produced an incomplete challan/charge-sheet before the trial court stating that the investigation of the case was still going on and the supplementary charge-sheet shall be submitted before the court, as such, investigating agency cannot be said to have completed the investigation within the required period so as to disentitle the appellant of his fundamental right of default bail.

5. Heard, perused the record and considered the matter.

6. Learned counsel for the appellant has vehemently argued that since the investigation against the appellant/accused No. 4 was still going on and the supplementary charge-sheet would be filed after completion of the same, thus, in law the investigation of the case FIR No. 82/2020 is not complete as yet and the appellant/accused is in the custody for last more than seven months, as such, he deserves to be released on bail as a right, on seeking default bail in terms of law as available to him. He further argued that the trial court had failed in its legal obligation to admit the appellant/accused to bail due to non-application of mind resulting in passing of the impugned order. It was prayed that the appellant/accused, who deserves to be released on bail, be admitted to bail and the impugned order be set aside.

7. Learned AAG, appearing for the respondents, on the other hand, argued that since the charge-sheet for the commission of offences including under UA(P) Act, was laid within 180 days from the arrest of the accused as has been pleaded by the appellant himself, the appellant was not entitled to be admitted to default bail as pleaded in this appeal. Learned AAG further argued that the trial court has rightly passed the order rejecting the plea of compulsive bail, which does not suffer from any kind of illegality, so as to warrant, any interference by this Court and it was finally prayed that the impugned order be upheld and the appeal be dismissed.

8. For proper appreciation of rival submissions, following facts of the case are required to be recorded:-

(I) The appellant/accused was arrested on 17.07.2021 in case registered at Police Station Kothibagh vide FIR No. 82/2020 for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 13/18/20/38UA(P) Act an