RAJEEV CHAUDHARY vs. STATE (NCT) OF DELHI
- Bench: Justices M.B. Shah and S.N. Variava.
- Appellant: Rajeev Chaudhary
- Respondent: State (N.C.T) of Delhi
Issue
- Imprisonment under Section 167(2) of CrPC
- Tenure of imprisonment under Section 386
Facts
• The background to the petition filed lies in the events that the petitioner was arrested in connection with the offence punishable under Sections 386, 506 and 120-B of the IPC.
• The petitioner was produced in front of the Magistrate and was granted bail due to the failure of submission of the charge-sheet as mentioned under Section 167(2) Of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
Contentions of the Petitioner
• This above order was challenged at the Additional Sessions Court where the Judge set aside the previous order referring to Section 386 of IPC in the ambit of this case related to Section of CrPC in the discussion of this case.
• Further, this order was again challenged by the accused in the High Court where the HC set aside the judgement of the Additional Sessions Judge.
• The contention here was that of a term "not less than" as mentioned in Section 167(2) of CrPc and the HC held that a clause under sub-section involved would interpret that offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of ten years or more would fall under clause (i) and offences which are punishable with imprisonment for less than ten years would fall under clause (ii).
Judgement
The High Court set aside the judgement.
Relevant Paragraphs
Section 167 is a provision which authorises the Magistrate permitting detention of an accused in custody and prescribing the maximum period for which such detention could be ordered pending investigation. We are concerned with the interpretation of proviso (a) of Section 167(2) which reads thus:-
167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours. (2)..
Provided that
(a) the Magistrate may authorise the detention of the accused person otherwise than in the custody of the police, beyond the period of fifteen days, if he is satisfied that adequate grounds exist for doing so, but no Magistrate shall authorise the detention of the accused person in custody under this paragraph for a total period exceeding,
(i) ninety days, where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years;
(ii) Further, Section 386 of I.P.C. provides as under:
386. Extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt. Whoever commits extortion by putting any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt to that person or any other, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
