It has been held time and again by the Apex Court as well as this Court that the right of the accused to be released on bail upon expiry of the stipulated period (180 days) for nonsubmission of charge sheet is indefeasible and cannot be denied under any circumstances. Further, in the case of Lambodar Bag v. State of Orissa (supra), it has been held that though the provisions under Section 36-A(4) of the Act do not specifically provide so, yet the accused person has a right to be heard and his entitlement to be released on bail under the provision of Section 167(2) of Cr.P.C. must also be brought to his notice. However, the accused-Petitioner was not produced before the Court on 23th December, 2019 i.e. on the next day of expiry of the 180 day period. Moreover, it is not forthcoming as to if he was informed by the court of his right to be released on default bail. Surprisingly, despite expiry of the stipulated period, neither the charge sheet was filed nor any permission sought for by the prosecution to extend the period of completion of investigation. Thus, the detention of the accused beyond 22nd December, 2019 becomes illegal. It is to be noted that charge sheet was ultimately submitted on 20th January, 2020.
