Can a delayed chargesheet get an accused bail? Kerala high court explains in drug case

Key Takeaways

• AI generated image NEW DELHI: The Kerala high court has ruled that an accused person will be entitled to statutory or "default" bail if the police electronically file the final report after 5 pm on the last day of the legally prescribed investigation period.The court said that under Kerala's Electronic Filing Rules, any e-filing done after 5 pm is legally treated as being filed on the next working day.
• As a result, if the police submit the final report after that deadline, it would be considered delayed, giving the accused a right to statutory bail.Justice Kauser Edappagath delivered the ruling while hearing a bail application filed by two persons, Aboobacker Siddique and Abdul Rouf M, who were booked for having 4.22 grams of MDMA at a homestay under Sections 22(b) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS).
• The accused were arrested on December 30, 2025, in Kasaragod, as per report by LiveLaw.They argued that the police filed the final report electronically at 6:02 pm on February 28, 2026, which was the 60th day of their custody, crossing the statutory deadline.The prosecution, however, claimed that since the offence carried a punishment extending up to 10 years, investigators had 90 days and not 60 days to file the report.Rejecting the argument, the court said default bail "is not merely a statutory right, but a fundamental right granted to an accused person," noting that the Supreme Court has tied it to Article 21 of the Constitution and repeatedly described it as "indefeasible."The court clarified that the longer 90-day period applies only where the offence carries the death penalty, life imprisonment, or a minimum sentence of 10 years.
• Offences punishable with imprisonment "up to" 10 years, without any mandatory minimum, fall under the 60-day rule.On the prosecution's argument that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) had altered the threshold by replacing "not less than ten years" with "ten years or more," the court disagreed, holding that the old and new provisions "are aligned, with only minor changes in phraseology.
• The sixty-day and ninety-day framework remains intact."On the question of the e-filing timing, the court held that filings received after 5 pm "shall, for the purpose of limitation, be deemed to have been instituted only on the next working day."Since the final report was uploaded at 6:02 pm on the 60th day, the court ruled that it effectively fell beyond the statutory period and granted bail to both accused, each on a bond of Rs.