The Chandigarh Sessions Court has allowed the default bail application of businessman Vikram Wadhwa, arrested in an FIR registered in the IDFC First Bank scam involving over Rs 153 crore of Chandigarh Smart City funds. Wadhwa sought default bail under Section 187(3) of the BNSS.Sumesh Jain, counsel for Wadhwa, said the accused was arrested in this FIR on March 14, and remanded to custody by the court the same day. He said Wadhwa has remained in custody continuously since then and has not been granted bail at any stage.The maximum period prescribed for completion of investigation and filing of the police report in this case is 90 days, Jain argued. He said the statutory period under Section 187 of the BNSS had expired and the investigating agency had failed to file a chargesheet within the time mandated by law.Jain contended that the right accruing under Section 187(3) of the BNSS is a valuable statutory right. Once availed by the accused, it cannot be defeated by any subsequent act of the prosecution. He said that for a default bail application, the merits of allegations, the amount involved, the nature of the accusation, or the stage of investigation are wholly irrelevant.Once the prescribed period for completion of investigation expires, and the accused avails the right by filing an application and expressing readiness to furnish bail bonds, the right cannot be defeated by a subsequent filing of a chargesheet, he argued. CBI filed the chargesheet only after the default bail application was filed.The public prosecutor opposed the default bail plea, claiming the chargesheet in the case had already been presented in court. After hearing arguments, the court allowed Wadhwa’s default bail application.