HC sets aside order extending custody
Orders pave the way for release on bail of Gadling and other activists arrested by Pune police
Observing that decisions like extending custody of the accused have to be taken judiciously and not arbitrarily, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday quashed the trial court’s order extending custody of advocate Surendra Gadling by an additional 90 days.
The court accordingly held the order granting extra time to Pune police to file its charge sheet against Gadling as illegal. The orders have paved the way for release of Gadling and other activists arrested by the Pune police.
A single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar said, “Incomplete probe beyond 90 days cannot be a ground for denying bail to the accused. Extension of time for more than a 90 days is a very serious decision curtailing the statutory right of the accused.”
“It is a discretion of the court to grant such an extension after it is furnished a report/application by the public prosecutor. The discretion is necessary to be used judiciously and not arbitrarily,” Justice Bhatkar observed.
The bench was seized with a plea filed by Gadling challenging orders of the trial court extending his custody and granting extra time to the Pune police for filing its charge sheet against him.
Gadling along with other activists was arrested in June this year for his alleged links with Naxals and for conspiring to kill PM Narendra Modi.
In his plea filed through advocate Sathyanarayan Iyer, Gadling argued that the police breached the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). "As per the law, the prosecutor must file a report spelling out progress of the probe and also specific grounds for further extension of custody and time to file charge sheet.
However, in this case, the investigating officer has filed such an application and the court has considered the same,” Iyer argued. Iyer further drew the bench’s attention to the fact that the plea for extension was not argued by the prosecutor, but by the investigating officer.