The court held that under Section 167(2) CrPC, the remand period must exclude the initial remand date for the entitlement to default bail, recognizing the need for prompt trials to prevent unjust detention.

JUDGMENT :

B.P.ROUTRAY, J.

1. The Petitioner has prayed to release him on bail under Section 439 Cr.P.C. He was arrested and remanded to custody on 4^th September 2021 in connection with S.T.F. P.S. Case No.31 dated 3^rd September 2021 for alleged commission of offences under Sections 21 (c)/29 of the N.D.P.S. Act for transporting and possessing 1 kg 34 grams of brown sugar (heroin). Since then, the Petitioner is inside custody in connection with the aforesaid Police Case corresponding to T.R. Case No.126 of 2021 in the court of learned 1^st Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Khordha.

2. The prayer for his release on default bail in terms of the provisions contained in Section 167 (2) of the Cr.P.C. read with Section 36 -A(4) of the N.D.P.S. Act was earlier rejected by this Court in CRLMC No.625 of 2022. This Court in its order dated 25.04.2022 have held as follows:

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2. Law is no more res integra on this issue. Recently in the case of M. Ravindran vs. Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence , (2021) 2 SCC 485 the Hon’ble Supreme Court has reiterated the law that the date on which the accused was remanded to judicial custody has to be excluded from calculation of statutory period of 180 days. It was observed at paragraph 8 of the said decision that:-

“This Court in a catena of judgments including Ravi Prakash Singh vs. State of Bihar, (2015) 8 SCC 340, has ruled that while computing the period under Section 167 (2), the day on which accused was remanded to judicial custody has to be excluded and the day on which challan / charge-sheet is filed in the court to be included.”

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7. As stated above, the day of initial remand is excluded from the statutory period as held in several case laws. By excluding 4^th September, 2021 from counting, 180 days completes on 3^rd March, 2022 when the prayer for extension was allowed by the learned Special Judge, It goes without saying that unless statutory period of 180 days is completed, no right of default bail accrues in favour of the accused. As such in the given facts of the case, no merit is seen in the prayer of the Petitioner to release him on default bail.”

3. Mr. D. Panda, learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that recently a Three Judge Bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court taking note of the case of M. Ravindran vs. Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence , (2021) 2 SCC 485 and several other case laws have held in Enforcement Directorate, Government of India vs. Kapil Wadhawan and another , 2023 SCC OnLine SC 972 while answering the reference that whether the period of remand under the first proviso to Section 167 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is inclusive of the day on which the Magistrate orders remand, have clarified and declared that the stipulated 60/90 day remand period under Section 167 Cr.P.C. ought to be computed from the day when the Magistrate authorizes remand. The relevant observations are reproduced below.

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Simply put, the Court needs to answer whether the period of remand under the first provision to Sec.167 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter ‘CrPC’) is inclusive of the day on which the Magistrate orders remand.

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7. The prosecution relies, on the line of reasoning in State of M.P. Vs. Rustam & Ors., 1995 (Supp) 3 SCC 221 which was later followed in Ravi Prakash Singh Vs. State of Bihar, (2015) 8 SCC 340 and M. Ravindran Vs. Intelligence Officer, Director of Revenue Intelligence, (2021) 2 SCC 485 where it was held that the date of remand is to be exc