Justice Suraj Govindaraj of the High Court of Karnataka has dismissed the bail petition moved by an accused in the GauriLankeshmurder case seeking default bail u/s 167(2) CRPC.

It was contended in the bail petition that the accused Hrishikesh Devdikar from Maharastra was arrested in January 2020 and since then he is in Judicial custody in connection with the same crime, therefore, a default/ statutory bail under section 167(2) CRPC has been moved alleging that charge-sheet has not been filed within 90 days of his arrest till 4th April, 2020.

It was argued by the Government advocate that the accused was absconding and a charge sheet has been submitted in his absence, therefore, he does not deserve to be released on this ground.

The bench rejected the bail on the ground that charge-sheet has been submitted before the accused was arrested, therefore, the benefit of subsection 2 of Section 167 CRPC cannot be extended to him.

The Court held that “I am of the considered opinion that in the present case, charge sheet having been laid against the petitioner even prior to the arrest of the petitioner, the petitioner having been arraigned as an accused and charged with certain offence, I am of the considered opinion that the benefit of Subsection (2) of Section 167 of CrPc would not arise.”