N Criminal Appeal No 249 of 1976
Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and order dated the 10th July 1975 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Misc
No 1104 of 1975
Prithvi Raj and Dalveer Bhandari for the Appellant
NM Ghatate for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DESAI J
 Respondents Lakshmi Brahman and Naval Garg were suspected of having committed an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life under section 302 IPC
Both of them surrendered before the Magistrate on November 2 1974 and were taken into custody
The investigation was then in progress
The investigating officer failed to submit the charge sheet against 540 them within a period of 60 days as contemplated by sub sec 2 of sec
167 of 1973 Code prior to its amendment by the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Act 1978 which enlarges the period from 60 to 90 days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years
In this case we are concerned with the proviso to sec
167 2 of the Cr P C 1973 prior to its amendment in 1978
It appears that the Investigating officer failed to submit the charge sheet within the prescribed period and according to the High Court till as late as February 5 1975
Thereupon the two respondents moved an application under sec
439 of the Cr P C invoking the power of the High Court to grant bail to any person accused of an offence even where the offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life
A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court which heard the application was of the opinion that after the charge sheet has been submitted under sec
170 Cr P C the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to authorise the detention of an accused in custody under sec
167 Cr P C and therefore the authority to remand the accused to custody after the charge sheet has been submitted has to be gathered from other provisions of the Code
The High Court then posed to itself the question whether in a case instituted upon a police report exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions the Magistrate while committing the accused to the Court of Sessions under sec
209 Cr P C has after the accused is brought before him and before the order committing the accused to the Court of Sessions is made jurisdiction to remand the accused to custody other than the police custody  The High Court was of opinion that since after the enactment of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 the proceeding before the Magistrate under Chapter XVI of the Code would not be an enquiry within the meaning of the expression in sec
2 g and therefore sec209 would not confer power on the Magistrate to commit the accused to custody
Proceeding along the line the High Court held that in view of the provision contained in sec
207 read with sec
209 of the Cr P C the Magistrate has to commit the accused forthwith to the Court of Sessions and only after the order of commitment is made the Magistrate will have power to remand accused to the custody during and until the conclusion of the trial
Tho High Court according held that the Magistrate has no 541 jurisdiction power or authority to remand the accused to custody after the charge sheet is submitted and before the commitment order is made and therefore the accused were entitled to be released on bail
So saying the High Court directed that the respondents be released on bail pending the trial by the Court of Sessions
State of UP has preferred this appeal by special leave
Respondents have not appeared even though served and the notice of lodgment of appeal has also been served upon them
As the respondents had not entered appearance a fresh notice of hearing the appeal was also issued but the respondents have not chosen to appear at the hearing of the appeal
Mr Prithviraj learned counsel appeared for the appellant State of UP
At the commencement of the hearing of the appeal we enquired from him as to what has happened to the case against the respondents whether the trial had taken place whether they were acquitted or convicted and whether any useful purpose would be served by hearing of the appeal which appears to us to have become practically infructuous
Mr Prithviraj had no information about the stage of trial and the present position of the respondents
But it was urged that the interpretation put by the High Court on secs
207 209 and 309 if not examined by this Court is likely to result in miscarriage of justice in a large number of cases as the High Court has introduced a stage of compulsory grant of bail to persons accused of serious offence not warranted by the Code and who would not be otherwise entitled to the discretionary relief of bail
It is this submission which has persuaded us to examine the contention on merits
Section 2g of the Code defines inquiry to mean every inquiry other than a trial conducted under the Code by a Magistrate or Court
Cognizable offence has been defined in sec 2c to mean an offence for which a police officer may in accordance with the First Schedule or under any other law for the time in force arrest without warrant
57 provides that no police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for a longer period than under all the circumstances of the case is reasonable and such period shall not in the absence of a special order of a Magistrate under Sec 167 exceed twenty four hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate s Court
In fact the provision contained in sec 57 incorporates the fundamental right guaranteed by article 22 of the 542 Constitution
Chapter XII of the Code incorporates provisions for initiation of investigation on receipt of information of a cognizable offence continuing the investigation culminating in the submission of a police report otherwise styled as charge sheet under sec
170 to the Magistrate having jurisdiction which would imply the end of investigation
Subsequent proceeding before the Magistrate would be the commencement of inquiry or trial leading to either commitment for trial in the Session Court or to discharge or acquittal of the accused by the Court having jurisdiction to try the case
167 finds its place in Chapter XII
Prior to its amendment by the amending Act of 1978 it read as under 1 Whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within the period of twenty four hours fixed by sec
57 and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well founded the officer in charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation if he is not below the rank of sub inspector shall forthwith transmit to the nearest Judicial Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary hereinafter prescribed relating to the case and shall at the same time forward the accused to such Magistrate
2 The Magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded under this section may whether he has or has not jurisdiction to try the case from time to time authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as such Magistrate thinks fit for a term not exceeding fifteen days in the whole and if he has no jurisdiction to try the case or commit it for trial and considers further detention unnecessary he may order the accused to be forwarded to Magistrate having such jurisdiction Provided that a the Magistrate may authorise detention of the accused person otherwise than in 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 section for a total period exceeding sixty days and on the 543 expiry of the said period of sixty days the accused person shall be released on bail and every person released on bail under this section shall be deemed to be so released under the provisions of Chapter XXXIII for the purposes of the Chapter b no Magistrate shall authorise detention in any custody under this section unless the accused is produced before him c no Magistrate of the second class not specially empowered in this behalf by the High Court shall authorise detention in the custody of the police
 In this appeal we are concerned with sec
167 hereinabove extracted
The High Court after examining the scheme of sec
1671 and 2 with the Proviso rightly concluded that on the expiry of 60 days from the date of the arrest of the accused his further detention does not become ipso facto illegal or void but if the charge sheet is not submitted within the period of 60 days then notwithstanding to the contrary in sec
4371 the accused would be entitled to an order for being released on bail if he is prepared to and does furnish bail
In this case it is an admitted position that the respondents did not apply to the Magistrate for being released on bail on the expiry of 60 days from the date of their arrest
The High Court was of the opinion that as the respondents did not apply for bail on the expiry of sixty days from the date of their arrest their continued detention would not be illegal or without the authority of law
So far there is no controversy
It was next contended before the High Court that after the submission of the charge sheet when the investigation could be said to have ended it was not open to the Magistrate to authorise the detention of an accused in custody under sec
167 of the Code and therefore if the accused is to be detained in custody after the submission of the charge sheet upon which the Magistrate takes cognizance of an offence the power to remand the accused to custody will have to be gathered from other provisions of the Code
The High Court then took notice of the fact that the police report discloses an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions and the Magistrate will have to proceed according to the provision contained in sec
209 of the Code
Shorn of embellishment the High Court proceeded to find out how the accused against whom the allegation is that he is 544 suspected of having committed an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life and in respect of whom the period for completion of investigation has elapsed and in the absence of charge sheet order committing him to Court of Sessions to stand his trial cannot be made and the accused does not apply for bail how is he to be dealt with by the Magistrate
In other words during the interregnum has the Magistrate power or jurisdiction to remand him to custody other than police custody and if there is such power in which provision it is located
The High Court then combed other provisions of the Code and ultimately concluded that since the 1973 Code does not envisage a preliminary enquiry to be held by the Magistrate under Chapter XVI the Magistrate is not expected to hold any enquiry before committing the accused and therefore sec
309 would not enable him to remand the accused to custody
In the terms High Court held that in such a situation for want of power in the Magistrate to remand accused to custody the Magistrate must forthwith on receipt of charge sheet pass an order committing the accused to Court of Sessions to stand his trial and then exercise power under sec
309 or to release him on bail notwithstanding the fact that accused has not sought an order of bail
The High Court left the question unanswered what would happen if the accused is unable to furnish bail by suggesting that the best thing to do for the Magistrate in such a situation is to forthwith pass an order committing the accused to Sessions to stand his trail and then invoke his jurisdiction to remand the accused to custody under sec
309 of the Code
The High Court held that as the Magistrate before whom the charge sheet was submitted remanded the respondents to custody without making the order of commitment the order remanding the accused to custody cannot be sustained under secs
167 2 209 309 of the Code and no other provision under which the respondents could be remanded to the custody at that stage having been indicated to the Court the High Court considered it a compelling necessity to accede to the request of the respondents to direct that they should be released on bail
Serious exception is taken to this view of the High Court by the learned counsel for the appellant
Respondents were suspected of having committed an offence punishable under sec
302 IPC
On their having surrendered they were taken into custody
When the matter was before the High Court as noticed by the High Court the charge sheet was not submitted against them by the Investigating Officer meaning thereby that 545 investigation was still in progress
The High Court proceeded to examine the powers of the Magistrate to whom the charge sheet is submitted in case of an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions for dealing with an accused after he is produced before him presumably under sec
170 and before an order committing the accused to the Court of Sessions as envisaged under sec
209 is made
If the High Court had no information when the application for bail moved by respondents for being enlarged on bail was heard as to whether the charge sheet against respondents was submitted to the Magistrate or not in our opinion it was futile for the High Court to undertake investigation of a point of law which would not directly arise in the facts before the High Court and ordinarily the academic exercise is hardly undertaken
However now as the High Court has dealt with the matter it becomes a precedent and therefore it becomes necessary for us to examine whether the view of the High Court is in consonance with the provision of the Code
And if not whether in the larger interest of criminal justice it is necessary to interfere with the same
We would proceed on the assumption as done by the High Court that the Investigating Officer has submitted the police report as contemplated by sec 170 and as required therein forwarded the accused under custody to the Magistrate to whom the police report is submitted
Now the High Court is right in holding that the jurisdiction to grant bail in case investigation is not completed within the prescribed time limit as incorporated in the provision as it then stood vests in the Magistrate if the accused applies and is prepared to furnish bail
Section 167 envisages a stage when a suspect is arrested and the investigation is not completed within the prescribed period
The investigation would come to an end the moment charge sheet is submitted as required under sec
170 unless the Magistrate directs further investigation
This view is in accord with the decision of this Court in State of Bihar Anr
vs IAC Saldanha  Ors
1 The question is how the Magistrate is to deal with the accused forwarded to him with the police report under sec
170 and the police report disclose an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions
Provisions contained in Chapter XVI provide for commencement of proceedings before the Magistrate
But before we refer to 546 those provisions w must make a passing reference to the provision contained in sec
190 which provides for taking cognizance of any offence by Magistrate one such mode of taking cognizance of an offence being upon police report if the facts disclose an offence
The police report contemplated by sec
1901b is the one submitted to the Magistrate under sec
provides for issue of process
207 provides that in any case where the proceeding has been instituted on a police report the Magistrate shall without delay furnish to the accused free of costs a copy of each of the documents set out therein
There are two provisos to this section which are not material for the present purpose
209 confers power on the Magistrate to commit the accused to the Court of Sessions when the offence disclosed in the police report is triable exclusively by it
Section 209 reads as under 209
Commitment of case to Court of Sessions when offence is triable exclusively by it When in a case instituted on a police report or otherwise the accused appears or is brought before the Magistrate and it appears to the Magistrate that the offence is triable exclusively by the Court of Session he shall a commit the case to Court of Sessions b subject to the provisions of this Code relating to bail remand the accused to custody during and until the conclusion of the trial  The High Court was of the opinion that on the submission of the police report under sec
170 the Magistrate has to forthwith commit the accused to the Court of Sessions if the offence disclosed in the charge sheet is the one exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions
This being the only function of the Magistrate according to the High Court the proceeding before the Magistrate under sec
207 read with sec
209 would not be an inquiry within the meaning of the expression in sec
2g of the Code
In reaching this conclusion the High Court referred to secs
84 116 125 137 138 145 and 146 as well as secs
159 and 202 of the Code to ascertain the meaning of expression inquiry  in the context in which it is used in these provisions
These provisions would hardly shed any light on the nature of the proceedings and the function discharged by the Magistrate from the time of receipt of a police report 547 under sec
170 disclosing an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions and until making of an order committing the accused to the Court of Sessions to stand his trial
The question posed is is it an administrative function or it is a judicial function  It is certainly not an administration function
If it is judicial function it has to be either an inquiry or a trial because the Code does not envisage discharge of judicial function by the Magistrate under the Code in any other manner
The High Court in this context has observed as under These sections 207 209 do not contemplate that before committing the case to Sessions the Magistrate should conduct some proceeding with a view to ascertain or verify facts
209 of the Code merely required the Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence on the basis of a police report to look into the report and if he finds that the case is triable exclusively by Court of Sessions to make an order committing the case to Sessions
Since in such a case the Magistrate taking cognizance of the offence is not required to conduct any proceeding for ascertaining or verifying facts with a view to commit the case to Sessions it cannot be said that the provisions contained in secs
204 207 to 209 of the Code contemplate an inquiry under the Code
 With respect this approach is not only not borne out by the relevant provisions of the Code but it overlooks the scheme of the sections and the purpose underlying the same
Section 170 obligates the Investigating Officer to submit the police report if in the course of investigation sufficient evidence or reasonable ground is made out for the trial or for commitment of the accused to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence upon a police report
On this report being submitted the Magistrate takes cognizance of the offence disclosed in investigation as envisaged by sec 190
It is indisputable that taking cognizance of an offence under sec
190 is a purely judicial function subject to judicial review by court of appeal or revision to which the Magistrate is subject
Cognizance of an offence even if exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions has to be taken by the Magistrate because section 193 precludes it from taking cognizance 548 of any offence when it provides that no Court of Sessions shall take cognizance of any offence as a court of original jurisdiction unless the accused has been committed by the Magistrate under the Code
Thus even in case of an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions the police report on completion of investigation has to be submitted to the Magistrate having jurisdiction to commit the accused for trial
It is the Magistrate who takes cognizance of the offence and not the Court of Sessions though the case is one exclusively triable by the latter
Sec 170 directs that if the accused in respect of whom police report is being submitted is in police custody he has to be forwarded alongwith the police report to the Magistrate
When the Magistrate receives the report and the accused is produced before him it is necessary for him to pass some order for his further detention subject to provisions contained in Chapter XXXIII as to Bails and Bonds
The view taken by the High Court makes it a necessity for the Magistrate to release the accused on bail even if the accused is not otherwise entitled to the discretionary order of bail nor he applies for nor is ready to furnish bail only because the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to keep the accused in custody till an order committing the accused for trial is made
The High Court referred to sec
209 which provides that the Magistrate shall commit the accused to Court of Sessions and subject to the provisions of the Code relating to bail remand the accused to custody during and until the conclusion of the trial
This according to the High Court implies that the Magistrate can exercise power to release on bail or remand to the custody the accused only after making the order of commitment but the Magistrate has no such power anterior to the order of commitment and during the interregnum since the receipt of the charge sheet
This dichotomy read by the High Court in secs
207 and 209 is certainly not borne out by the provisions of the Code
Sec 207 as it then stood made it obligatory for the Magistrate to supply free of costs copies of the documents set out in the section
The duty cast on the Magistrate by sec
207 had to be performed in a judicial manner
To comply with sec
207 which is cast in a mandatory language when the accused is produced before the Magistrate he has to enquire from the accused by recording his statement whether the copies of the various documents set out in sec
207 have been supplied to him or not
No order committing the accused to the Court of Sessions can be made under sec
209 unless the Magistrate fully complies with the provisions of sec
And if it is shown that the copies of relevant documents or some 549 of them are not supplied the matter will have to be adjourned to get the copies prepared and supplied to the accused
This is implicit in section 207 and sec
209 provides that on being satisfied that the requisite copies have been supplied to the accused the Magistrate may proceed to commit the accused to the Court of Sessions to stand his trial
The statutory obligation imposed by sec
207 read with sec
209 on the Magistrate to furnish free of costs copies of documents is a judicial obligation
It is not an administrative function
It is a judicial function which is to be discharged in a judicial manner
It is distinctly possible that the copies may not be ready
That makes it necessary to adjourn the matter for some time which nay be spent in preparing the copies and supplying the same to the accused
The Magistrate can proceed to commit the accused for trial to the Court of Sessions only after he judicially discharges the function imposed upon him by sec
This conclusion is fortified by the provisions contained in Chapter XVIII which prescribed the procedure for trial of a case by Court of Sessions
Sec 226 provides for opening the case for the prosecution
227 confers power on the Court of Sessions to discharge the accused if upon consideration of the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith the Judge considers that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused
No duty is cast on the Court of Sessions to enquire before proceeding to hear the case of the prosecution under sec
226 to ascertain whether the copies of the documents have been furnished to the accused because section 207 casts the obligation upon the Magistrate to perform the judicial function
Now if under sec
207 the Magistrate is performing a judicial function of ascertaining whether copies have been supplied or not it would undoubtedly be an inquiry for the purpose of satisfying himself that sec
207 has been complied with in letter and spirit
That satisfaction has to be judicial satisfaction
It is not a trial but something other than a trial and being judicial function it would necessarily be an inquiry
The making of an order committing the accused to the Court of Sessions will equally be a stage in the inquiry and the inquiry culminates in making the order of commitment
Thus from the time the accused appears or is produced before the Magistrate with the police report under sec
170 and the Magistrate proceeds to enquire whether sec
207 has been complied with and then proceeds to commit the accused to the Court of Sessions the proceeding before the Magistrate would be an inquiry as contemplated by sec
2g of the Code
We find it difficult 550 to agree with the High Court that the function discharged by the Magistrate under sec
207 is something other than a judicial function and while discharging the function the Magistrate is not holding an inquiry as contemplated by the Code
If the Magistrate is holding the inquiry obviously sec
309 would enable the Magistrate to remand the accused to the custody till the inquiry to be made is complete
Sub sec
2 of sec
309 provides that if the Court after taking cognizance of an offence or commencement of trial finds it necessary or advisable to postpone the commencement or adjourn any inquiry or trial it may from time to time for reasons to be recorded postpone or adjourn the same on such terms as it thinks fit for such time as it considers reasonable and may by a warrant remand the accused if in custody
There are three provisos to sub sec 2 which are not material
If therefore the proceedings before the Magistrate since the submission of the police report under sec
170 and till the order of commitment is made under sec
209 would be an inquiry and if it is an inquiry during the period the inquiry is completed sec
3092 would enable the Magistrate to remand the accused to the custody
Therefore with respect the High Court committed an error in holding that the order remanding the respondents to custody made after cognizance of offence was taken cannot be justified under section 1672 209 and 309 of the Code and no other provision under which the respondents can be remanded to custody at this stage has been indicated by the learned Government Advocate we feel that it would be proper to accede to the request made by the respondents and to direct that they would be released on bail after furnishing adequate security to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Banda
 The view taken by the High Court introduces a stage of compulsory bail not envisaged by the Code and therefore also the view of the High Court cannot be upheld
According to the High Court after the accused is brought before the court alongwith the police report the Magistrate must forthwith commit the accused to the Court of Sessions because the Magistrate would have no jurisdiction in the absence of any provision to remand the accused to custody till the order committing the case to Court of Sessions is made
The view with respect is wholly untenable and must be set aside
Mr Prithviraj learned counsel drew our attention to the decision of this Court in Gauri Shanker Jha vs The State of Bihar 551 and Ors 1 This case is of no assistance because it dealt with the situation under the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 which did require the Magistrate to be satisfied with prima facie case before an order committing an accused to the Court of Sessions could be made
In view of the discussion this appeal is allowed and the order of the High Court granting bail to the respondents on the short ground that they could not be remanded to the custody before the order committing them to the Court of Sessions is made is set aside However if in the meantime the trial is over no question of taking the respondents into custody pursuant to the order would arise
HLC Appeal allowed


Summary:
The respondents were suspected of having committed an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life under section 302 IPC triable exclusively by the Court of Session
They surrendered before the Magistrate on November 2 1974 and were taken into custody
The investigating officer failed to submit the charge sheetpolice report against them within the period of 60 days contemplated by the proviso to sub section
2 of section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 as it stood prior to its amendment in 1978
However the respondents did not apply to the Magistrate for being released on bail but approached the High Court under section 439 Cr
According to the High Court the charge sheet against the respondents was submitted on February 5 1975
The High Court directed that the respondents be released on bail pending trial by the Court of Session holding i that in a case triable exclusively by the Court of Session after the charge sheet has been submitted under section 170 and before committing the accused to the Court of Session the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to authorise the detention of an accused in custody under section 167 Cr
PC ii that in such a case section 209 would not confer power on the Magistrate to commit the accused to custody since after the enactment of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 the procedure before the Magistrate under Chapter XVI of the Code would not be an inquiry within the meaning of section 2 g thereof 538 iiithat in such a case section 309 would also not enable the Magistrate to A remand the accused to custody since he would not be competent to try the accused and iv that in view of the provision contained in section 207 read with section 209 Cr
PC the Magistrate has to commit the accused forthwith to the Court of Session and it is only after the order of commitment is made that the Magistrate will have power to remand the accused to the custody during and until the conclusion of the trial
Allowing the appeal  HELD The view that after the accused is brought before the court along with the police report under section 170 Cr
PC the Magistrate must forth with commit the accused to the Court of Session because the Magistrate would have no jurisdiction in the absence of any provision to remand the accused to custody till the order committing the case to the Court of Session is made
is wholly untenable and must be set aside
550 F H Section 170 Cr
PC Obligates the investigating officer to submit the police report if in the course of investigation sufficient evidence or reasonable ground is made out for the trial or for commitment for trial of the accused to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence upon a police report
On this report being submitted the Magistrate takes cognizance of the offence disclosed in investigation as envisaged by S190
Cognizance of an offence even if exclusively triable by the Court of Session has to be taken by the Magistrate be cause section 193 precludes the Court of Session from taking cognizance of any offence
Taking cognizance of an offence under section 190 is a purely judicial function subject to judicial review
The statutory obligation imposed by section 207 read with section 209 on the Magistrate to furnish free of cost copies of documents mentioned in section 207 to the accused is a judicial function and it has to be discharged in a judicial manner
It is distinctly possible that the copies may not be ready
That makes it necessary to adjourn the matter for some time which may be spent in preparing the copies and supplying the same to the accused
The Magistrate can proceed to commit the accused for trial to the Court of Session only after he judicially discharges the function imposed upon him by section 207
This conclusion is fortified by the provisions contained in Ss 226 and 227 of Chapter XVIII which prescribe the procedure for trial of a case by the Court of Session
When the Magistrate is performing a judicial function under section 207 it would undoubtedly be an inquiry
The making of an order committing the accused to the Court of Session will equally be a stage in the inquiry
Thus from the time the accused appears or is produced before the Magistrate with the police report under section 170 and the Magistrate proceeds to enquire whether section 207 has been complied with and then proceeds to commit the accused to the Court of Session the proceeding before the Magistrate would be an inquiry as contemplated by section 2g and section 3092 would enable the Magistrate to remand the accused to custody till the inquiry to be made is complete
547 G H 548 A B 549 B H 550A D 539 In the instant case when the matter was before the High Court the charge sheet had not been submitted against the respondents by the investigating A officer meaning thereby that the investigation was still in progress
If the High Court had no information when the application for bail moved by the respondents for being enlarged on bail was heard as to whether the charge sheet against the respondents had been submitted to the Magistrate or not it was futile for the High Court to have undertaken an investigation of a point of law which did not directly arise in the facts before the High Court
As the High Court had dealt with the matter it became a precedent and therefore it became necessary for the Court to examine whether the view of the High Court was in consonance with the provisions of the Code
544 H 545 A D The High Court was right in holding that the jurisdiction to grant bail in case investigation is not completed within the prescribed limit as incorporated in the proviso to section 167 2 as it then stood vests in the Magistrate if the accused applies for and is prepared to furnish bail
Section 167 envisages a stage when a suspect is arrested and investigation is not complete within the prescribed period
The investigation would come to an end the moment charge sheet is submitted as required under section 170 unless the Magistrate directs further investigation
545 E F State of Bihar and Arn
vs JAC Saldanha and Ors   referred to