In Brief
In this criminal appeal, the Court considered whether an accused could be denied default bail on the grounds that the charge sheet was not filed within the prescribed statutory period during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Court held that while lockdown restrictions imposed genuine hardships, they cannot be invoked to curtail an accused's fundamental right to obtain bail when the prosecution fails to file the charge sheet on time. The judgment reaffirms that default bail is an indefeasible right that cannot be suspended or deferred by extraordinary circumstances, and the prescribed statutory timelines remain binding on the prosecution regardless of lockdown conditions.
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