Mumbai: Police fail to file charge sheet, builder gets bail

The Bombay High Court has observed that an accused’s right to get default bail when a charge sheet is not filed within the prescribed time, cannot be defeated by merely invoking graver section which grants more time to the prosecution to file the charge sheet.

On April 25, Justice CV Bhadang granted default bail to Alnesh Somji, a Pune-based builder, as the police failed to file charge sheet after 60 days. Instead, the police invoked more serious cases against him which gives police 90 days to file charge sheet since it is a more serious offence.

While granting bail, the HC observed that although the police have the right to investigate and add new or more aggravated charges which gives them more time further investigate, it didn’t mean that the courts did not have powers to see whether such an offence is ex facie attracted in the case.

An FIR was registered by Koregaon Park police station in Pune against Somji on a complaint filed by one Yogesh Dixit in last October for failing to repay Rs 67 lakh. Somji and his wife were arrested at the Delhi airport on November 1, 2021. His wife was released on bail last year.