CRIMINAL PROCEDURE – BAIL – STATUTORY BAIL – DEFAULT BAIL – APPLICATION OF GENERAL CLAUSES ACT, 1897, SECTION 10 TO BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023, SECTION 187(3) READ WITH NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES ACT, 1985, SECTION 36A(4).
(2025) 7 KCD 231 : 2025 KER 54409
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.
B.A. No. 6164 of 2025; July 23, 2025
Held: The principle of Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (GC Act) – which extends the time for an act or proceeding to the next working day if the prescribed date falls on a holiday – cannot be applied to Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) read with Section 36A(4) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).
BNSS Section 187 deals with the procedure when an investigation cannot be completed within twenty-four hours, empowering a Magistrate to authorise detention beyond 15 days, up to 60 or 90 days, based on the offence.
For offences involving commercial quantities under the NDPS Act, Section 36A(4) of the NDPS Act extends this 90-day period to 180 days, which can be further extended to one year by a Special Court.
Crucially, these provisions (BNSS 187(3) and NDPS 36A(4)) only stipulate the maximum period for which a Magistrate can authorise the detention of an accused; they do not prescribe a specific time limit for the police to complete an investigation or file a final report before the Court.
Section 10 of the GC Act mandates that it applies only when an act or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken in any Court or office on a certain day or within a prescribed period. The sine qua non for its application is the requirement of an act to be done or a proceeding to be taken in a Court or office within a period prescribed by law.
Since Section 187(3) of BNSS does not prescribe any period for the performance of an act by the police in a Court or office, Section 10 of the GC Act has no application.
Therefore, if the investigation is not completed within the prescribed period (e.g., 180 days in NDPS cases) and the final report is not filed, the accused acquires an absolute and indefeasible right to be released on statutory bail upon the expiry of that period, irrespective of whether the last day falls on a public holiday. Filing the final report on the next working day after a holiday cannot be treated as filed within time to deny statutory bail.
Reference to other decisions: The Court expressed respectful agreement with similar views held by the High Court of Bombay in State of Maharashtra v. Sharad B Sarda (1983) and the Delhi High Court in Powell Nwawa Ogechi v. The State (Delhi Administration) (1986) and Noor Mohammad v. State (1978), all of which held that Section 10 of the GC Act does not apply to the time limits for default bail under Section 167(2) of the erstwhile Cr.P.C..
Case Outcome: In this specific case, the petitioner was arrested on 16.10.2024, and the final report, in an NDPS case involving commercial quantity, was required by 13.04.2025 (180 days). It was filed on 15.04.2025, after 13.04.2025 (Sunday) and 14.04.2025 (Vishu holiday). The Court held that the petitioner was entitled to statutory bail as the final report was not filed within the one hundred and eightieth day.
