Shaurya Sunil Kumar Singh: Supreme Court rejects BNSS default-bail claim

Ratio / rule laid down

Default bail under Section 187(3) is triggered by failure to file the charge-sheet itself within the statutory period, not by failure to file or supply copies and accompanying documents. Once a police report in the form prescribed by Section 193(3) is filed in time, non-compliance with Section 193(8) cannot be equated with the statutory default under Section 187(3).

Why this matters for lawyers

• In a default-bail application, identify whether the police report itself was filed before expiry of the applicable 60- or 90-day period; do not treat delayed service of copies as an automatic substitute for that failure.
• A charge-sheet may remain procedurally vulnerable to objections concerning copies or documents, but that objection does not, by itself, create a default-bail right or vitiate the report.
• Section 230 supplies a separate statutory timeline: the report and documents must ordinarily be furnished within 14 days of the accused’s production or appearance. Enforce that obligation independently through appropriate procedural relief.
• Once default bail has ceased, the accused must pursue regular bail on merits. The Court expressly clarified that the regular-bail application is to be considered independently of the default-bail decision.

Facts

The CBI alleged that cyber-criminal proceeds were routed through a mule company’s bank account after digital-arrest, custom-fraud and phishing operations. On 02.07.2025, Rs. 3.81 crores was transferred into the account and thereafter moved to other mule accounts. The appellant was alleged to have provided logistical support, transported cheque books, ATM cards and SIM cards, facilitated payments, and possessed mobile phones used in the transfers.

The appellant was taken into custody on 13.07.2025. The CBI filed the charge-sheet before the Magistrate on 02.09.2025, but the appellant contended that additional copies and related documents had not been filed or supplied within the statutory period. A copy was supplied on 23.09.2025. His default-bail application was dismissed by the Special Judge and, subsequently, by the Bombay High Court.

Issues

• Whether failure to file the additional charge-sheet copies contemplated by Section 193(8), BNSS prevented the prosecution from claiming that the charge-sheet had been filed within time.
• Whether delayed supply of the police report and documents under Section 230, BNSS entitled the appellant to default bail under Section 187(3), BNSS.
• Whether the filing of a police report in the prescribed form, without the additional copies, vitiated the charge-sheet.

Court's Reasoning

The Court read Sections 187(3), 193 and 230 of the BNSS alongside Sections 167, 173 and 207 of the CrPC. It found the default-bail provisions substantially identical in substance. Section 193(8) was treated as an additional mechanism requiring the investigating officer to lodge copies of the police report and indexed documents for supply to the accused; it did not alter what constitutes the police report for the purpose of default bail.

Relying on the established distinction between failure to file a charge-sheet and an incomplete supply of supporting material, the Court held that the relevant statutory event is filing the police report in the form prescribed by Section 193(3), BNSS. The principles in Judgebir Singh and CBI v. Kapil Wadhawan were applied: even omission to file all relied-on documents does not invalidate the charge-sheet where the statutory police report has been filed. CBI v. R.S. Pai and Narendra Kumar Amin further supported treating document-filing requirements as directory at this stage, with later production remaining possible.

The charge-sheet was filed on 02.09.2025 within the applicable period and complied with Section 193(3). The Court therefore held that the right to default bail ceased on that date. The subsequent taking of cognizance on 18.10.2025, which had not been challenged, reinforced the conclusion that the police report was legally sufficient. Any failure under Section 193(8) or Section 230 could not be converted into the distinct default contemplated by Section 187(3).

Key Takeaways

• Timely filing controls: default bail turns on whether the charge-sheet itself was filed within 60 or 90 days, as applicable.
• Copies are distinct: non-filing or non-supply of additional copies under Section 193(8) does not vitiate a charge-sheet compliant with Section 193(3).
• Supply deadline remains enforceable: Section 230 requires supply of the police report and documents within 14 days of production or appearance, but breach does not itself trigger default bail.
• Cognizance is not the trigger: the right ordinarily ceases on timely filing of the compliant police report; cognizance in the case further confirmed its sufficiency.
• Remedy shifts: after default bail is extinguished, the accused must seek regular bail on merits.

Important Observations

The judgment preserves the constitutional character of default bail as an indefeasible Article 21 right, while emphasising that it is conditional on investigative delay. It also cautions against conflating a procedural entitlement to copies with the investigative failure that activates statutory bail. The Court noted that default-bail adjudication is not a merits determination.

What Remains Unresolved

The judgment does not determine the consequences, if any, of non-compliance with Section 193(8) or Section 230 apart from default bail. It expressly leaves the appellant’s regular-bail application to be considered independently and on its own merits.

Precedents discussed

• Judgebir Singh @ Jasbir Singh Samra @ Jasbir & Ors. v. National Investigation Agency[2023] 6 SCR 1 : (2023) 17 SCC 48Relied upon

  the right ends when investigation is completed by filing the police report

• Central Bureau of Investigation v. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr.[2024] 1 SCR 677 : (2024) 3 SCC 734Relied upon

  incomplete filing of relied-on documents does not vitiate the charge-sheet

• Central Bureau of Investigation v. R.S. Pai[2002] 2 SCR 889 : (2002) 5 SCC 82Relied upon

  document-filing requirement under Section 173(5) CrPC is directory

• Narendra Kumar Amin v. CBI and Ors(2015) 3 SCC 417Relied upon

  timely police report in statutory form defeats the incomplete-charge-sheet objection

• State Through Central Bureau of Investigation v. T. Gangi Reddy @ Yerra Gangi Reddy[2023] 1 SCR 741 : (2023) 4 SCC 253Referred to

  default bail is not release on merits and serves to prevent investigative delay

Source judgment: Shaurya Sunil Kumar Singh v. Central Bureau of Investigation · Bench: Sanjay Karol, Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh