Will Soon Decide Case That Froze 'Ritu Chhabaria' Judgment On Incomplete Chargesheet- Default Bail : CJI

The Chief Justice of India on Wednesday said that it will soon decide the matter in which the 2023 judgment in Ritu Chhabaria v. Union of India And Ors has been kept in abeyance. In Ritu Chhabaria, a two-judge bench held that the filing of an incomplete chargesheet will not defeat the right of the accused to seek default bail.

However, the effect of the judgment was suspended by a 3-judge bench in Directorate of Enforcement v. Manpreet Singh Talwar by ordering that Courts should not consider applications seeking default bail relying on Ritu Chhabaria principle.

Today, while considering bail matters in the Andhra Pradesh Liquor scam case, Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram informed a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi of this pending issue.

He informed that while Ritu Chhabaria held that the filing of an incomplete chargesheet where investigation is pending will not be considered as filing of a chargesheet in terms of Section 167 CrPC(now Section 187 BNSS), and the accused will be entitled to default bail. He added that a contrary judgment was given in CBI v. Kapil Wadhwan which held that the accused cannot seek default bail on the ground that an investigation was pending against other accused. In Directorate of Enforcement v. Manpreet Singh Talwar, based on a submission by the Solicitor General that Ritu Chhabaria was under review, ordered that no court should grant default bail relying on Ritu Chhabaria.

Sundaram further informed that in August this year, the Supreme Court dismissed the CBI's review petition against Ritu Chhabaria. In this context, the issue whether an incomplete chargesheet can deny default bail needs to be settled, Sundaram said, pointing out that Manpreet Talwar, which was referred to a three-judge bench, is still pending.

"That legal issue we will decide. We are very soon going to take up that issue also," CJI Kant said.