Mumbai: Directing the CBI to furnish a copy of the chargesheet to Devang Mody, former director and CEO of Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), arrested as part of its ongoing probe into the Reliance ADA Group cases, a special court on Friday held that an accused is entitled to receive a copy of the document under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) without delay, even when the prosecution says cognisance has not yet been taken.Rejecting the CBI’s objection, Special Judge Nitin V Jiwane observed, “Thus, the chargesheet filed by the CBI is duly scrutinised and the same is registered. Therefore, the applicant being one of the accused in the said case is entitled for the copy of the charge-sheet filed by the CBI for taking necessary legal assistance to defend himself in the said case.” The court further held, “Further, no prejudice is going to cause to the CBI, if the copy of the chargesheet is supplied to the accused.”Since the record was voluminous, the court ordered that the copy be supplied through electronic means.The defence argued that Mody was produced before the court after the chargesheet was filed and that the statutory period of 14 days had expired, but the CBI had still not supplied the documents. The CBI opposed the plea, stating that although the chargesheet had been filed, investigation had been kept open to examine the role of public servants and other suspects or accused persons. The agency also argued that cognisance had not yet been taken, and therefore the chargesheet should not be supplied at this stage.
