TIMELINE TO FILE CHARGESHEET AFTER FIR

Once you have reported the crime by filing an FIR, the officer in charge must send the report
to a Magistrate, who will take note of the case without any unnecessary delay, and proceed
with the investigation. This is a mandatory step that the police have to follow, as it allows the
Magistrate to take control of the investigation, and if necessary give appropriate directions to
the police.

The police will investigate the facts and circumstances of the case, and if necessary, take
measures to find and arrest the person committing the crime.

If the police officer feels that the case is not of serious nature, he may appoint a subordinate
officer to do the investigation. Also, if they think that there are no sufficient grounds to
investigate further, they may not do so.

When the Police are done with their investigation and have found enough evidence to
proceed with a criminal case, they file a chargesheet. However, after investigation if
they have not found anything proving the commission of a crime, they will suggest the
closing of the case by filing a closure report to the Magistrate.

It is the filing of the charge sheet where the trial of a criminal case begins. The police do
not have a time limit to file the charge sheet or a closure report. Even the Magistrate
cannot compel the police to file the chargesheet in a particular period of time. 1But if the
person accused of a crime is in jail, then they have either 60 days (where the
punishment for the crime is less than 10 years) or 90 days (where the punishment of the
crime is more than 10 years) to file the chargesheet.2

1
https://nyaaya.org/police-and-courts/fir/chargesheet/
2
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/trp-scam-republic-mumbai-police-fir-6821350/
What Are The Consequences If Charge Sheet Is Not Filed Within Specified Time
Frame?

In Rakesh Kumar Paul case3, where accused was charged with offence under Section 13(1) of
the Prevention of Corruption Act being punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall
be not less than four years but which may extend to ten years, the State argued since the
petitioner could face imprisonment that could extend up to 10 years; the date for applying for
default bail would commence on the expiry of 90 days.

However, Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur of Supreme Court held that the petitioner had
satisfied all the requirements of obtaining Default Bail he had put in more than 60 days in
custody pending investigations into an alleged offence not punishable with imprisonment for
a minimum period of 10 years, no charge sheet has been filed against him and he was
prepared to furnish bail for his release, as such, he ought to have been released by the High
Court on reasonable terms and conditions of bail. Justice Deepak Gupta of Supreme Court
further held that Section 167(2((a)(i) of the CrPC is applicable only in cases where the
accused is charged with:

 offences punishable with death and any lower sentence;

 offences punishable with life imprisonment and any lower sentence and
 offences punishable with minimum sentence of 10 years; in all cases where the
minimum sentence is less than 10 years but the maximum sentence is not death or life
imprisonment, then Section 167(2)(a)(ii) will apply and the accused will be entitled to
grant of default bail after 60 days, in case charge-sheet is not filed.

3
https://www.latestlaws.com/latest-caselaw/2017/august/2017-latest-caselaw-574-sc/