Supreme Court rules on police custody, default bail under new criminal law

The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that police custody under Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) can be sought in parts within the first 40 or 60 days of detention, and is not confined to the first 15 days of remand. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside an Andhra Pradesh High Court condition that had prohibited extending police custody beyond the initial 15 days.

In a separate ruling on July 1, a bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh held that non-supply of a charge sheet copy to an accused is not a ground for default bail under Section 187(3) BNSS, upholding the Bombay High Court's rejection of such a plea. The same Monday bench also ruled under Section 38 BNSS that an accused's right to meet an advocate during interrogation does not include continuous physical presence of the advocate throughout the questioning.

On July 30, a bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B Varale held that no statutory appeal under Section 415 BNSS lies against a sessions court's conviction order that reverses a trial court's acquittal; only a revision under Section 438/442 BNSS is maintainable. The court also clarified on July 31 that witness testimony recorded in a trial against one accused cannot be used against an absconding accused in a later trial unless an order under Section 335 BNSS was passed.