Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Section 167(1) Person arrested and produced before Magistrate Remand to police custody after initial period of 15 days Whether legal.

A case relating to abduction of four diamond merchants and one K was registered at Police Station on 16.9.91. The investigation was entrusted to C.B.I. During investigation it was disclosed that between 14th and 15th September 1991, the four diamond merchants, K and one driver were kidnapped from two hotels, and that K was one of the associates of the accused, responsible for the kidnapping.

On 4.10.91 K was arrested and was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, on 5.10.91 and he was remanded to judicial custody till 11.10.91.

On 10.10.91 a test identification parade was arranged but K refused to cooperate and his refusal was recorded by the concerned Magistrate.

On 11.10.91 the investigating officer moved an application, seeking police custody of K, which was allowed.

When he was being taken on the way K pretended to be indisposed and he was taken to a Hospital, where he remained confined on the ground of illness upto 21.10.91 and then he was referred to Cardic- Out-patient Department of the Hospital. K was again remanded to judicial custody by the Magistrate upto 29.10.91 and thereafter he was sent to Jail.

As the Police could not take him into police custody all these days the investigating officer again applied to the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate for police custody of K.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate relying on a judgment in State (Delhi Admn.) v. Dharam Pal and others, 1982 Crl. L.J. 1103 refused police remand.

A revision was filed before the High Court against the order of the Magistrate.

The High Court, without deciding the question, whether or not after the expiry of the initial period of 15 days a person could still be remanded to police custody by the Magistrate before whom he was produced, granted K bail.

In these appeals, the C.B.I. challenged the order of the High Court, contending that the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate erred in not granting police custody and that Dharam Pal's case on which he placed reliance was wrongly decided; that the High Court erred in granting bail to K without deciding the question whether he can be remanded to police custody; that a combined reading of Section 167(2) and the proviso therein would make it clear that if for any reason the police custody could not be obtained during the period of first fifteen days yet a remand to the police custody even later was not precluded.

The respondent-accused submitted that the police custody if at all be granted by the Magistrate u/s. 167 Cr. P.C. should be only during the period of first 15 days from the date of production of the accused before the Magistrate and not later and that subsequent custody if any should only be judicial custody and the question of granting police custody after the expiry of first 15 days remand did not arise.

On the question, Whether a person arrested and produced before the nearest Magistrate as required under Section 167(1) Code of Criminal Procedure could still be remanded to police custody after the expiry of the initial period of 15 days, this Court dismissing the appeals of the C.В.І.