SARASWATI RAI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under Section 21(4) of the National Investigating Agency Act, 2008 (hereinafter referred to as NIA Act) against an order refusing to grant bail on default to the Appellant Saraswati Rai.

(2.) The present Appellant, aged about 23 years and happened to be a student of Master of Business Administration, pursuing her study at IIAS School of Management, Siliguri was arrested on March 14, 2010 by the State police in connection with Matigara Police Station Case No. 51/2010, under Sections 121/121A/122/124A of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) Mr. Sekhar Basu, the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Appellant vehemently contended that in connection with the aforesaid case when no charge-sheet was submitted within the statutory period of 90 days from the date of arrest of the Appellant and there was no order of extension of time in terms of Sub-section (2)(b) of Section 43D of the U.A. (P) Amendment Act, 2008 read with Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as Code of Criminal Procedure), and the Appellant having moved the Court concerned for statutory bail invoking default clause and as was ready to furnish the bail bond, as required by the Court, in such circumstances the Court was left with no option but to release her on bail. It was further contended that the right of the accused to avail the statutory bail on default of the prosecution in filing charge-sheet within the statutory period of 90 days cannot be denied by extending the time of completion of investigation, by making an order long after the expiry of statutory period. It was further contended that extension of time was granted not only long after the expiry of statutory period but without any prior notice to the accused and on a "Bandh day" when the learned advocate of the Appellant through whom she was all through represented in the matter could not be present in Court. In this connection the reliance have been placed on an observation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court at paragraph 21 in the decision, viz., Hintendra Vishnu Thakur and Ors. v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.,1994 SCC 1087 where the Apex Court observed;