A suspended IPS officer accused in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case sought default bail today from the special court here, after the CBI which is investigating the case, failed to file a chargesheet within 90 days of his arrest.
IPS officer G L Singhal, who was arrested by the agency on February 21 and produced before the court the next day, has filed a bail application before the special CBI court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate S H Khutwad and the hearing is likely to be held tomorrow.
In his application, filed through advocate Brijrajsinh Jhala, Singhal argued that on May 22, the period of 90 days, as envisaged under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code expired and during the said period, no report, challan or chargesheet, as contemplated under Section 173(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code was filed by the CBI.
"As a result an indefeasible right, to be released on bail or default bail has accrued on the applicant," the application said.
Repeated efforts by PTI to contact the CBI in order to find out why it failed to file a chargesheet against Singhal during the stipulated time of 90 days did not succeed.
Singhal, was the first police officer from Gujarat to be arrested in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case by the CBI.
On March 2, apparently unhappy that the Gujarat government did not do anything to protect him, Singhal resigned from the Indian Police Service (IPS).
Besides Singhal, so far the CBI has arrested five Gujarat cops including Tarun Barot, J G Parmar, Bharat Patel, N K Amin and Anaju Chaudhary.
