Default Bail Under BNSS Section 187 (2026): The 60/90-Day Chargesheet Deadline, How to Apply the Day It Accrues, and How the Right Is Lost
If the police fail to file the chargesheet within 60 days (ordinary offences) or 90 days (offences punishable with death, life imprisonment, or a term of not less than 10 years) from the date of first remand, the accused gets an automatic, enforceable right to be released on bail under Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). This is default bail — the court cannot look at the seriousness of the allegations; the only question is whether the deadline was missed and whether the accused is ready to furnish bail. But the right is fragile: it disappears the moment a valid chargesheet is filed, so it must be claimed the same day it accrues.
Default bail is a statutory release the accused earns not by proving innocence, but purely because the State missed the deadline to complete its investigation.
Default bail (also called statutory bail or compulsive bail) is governed by the proviso to Section 187(3) BNSS — the successor to Section 167(2) of the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). You can read the section text on the official code portal, indiacode.nic.in. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held this is not a mere technicality but a fundamental right flowing from Article 21 — in Bikramjit Singh v. State of Punjab, (2020) 10 SCC 616, a three-judge Bench called it "part of the procedure established by law" under Article 21.
This matters because over 75% of India's prison population are undertrials awaiting trial, not convicts (NCRB, Prison Statistics India 2022, ncrb.gov.in). Default bail is one of the few tools that puts a hard clock on pre-trial detention.
Is it 60 days or 90 days? The deadline table
The deadline depends only on the punishment prescribed for the offence being investigated:
| Nature of offence | Deadline to file chargesheet | BNSS provision |
|---|---|---|
| Punishable with death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years | 90 days | S. 187(3)(i) |
| All other offences | 60 days | S. 187(3)(ii) |
| Special statutes (e.g. NDPS Act s. 36A, UAPA s. 43-D) | 180 days (extendable) | The special Act overrides BNSS |
The single most litigated point is the "intermediate category": an offence whose maximum punishment is 10 years but whose minimum is less than 10 years. In Rakesh Kumar Paul v. State of Assam, (2017) 15 SCC 67, the Supreme Court held that the 90-day window applies only where the offence carries a term of not less than 10 years — so an offence with a 10-year ceiling but a lower floor falls in the 60-day bucket. If your client is in one of these offences, the deadline is 60 days, and many trial courts get this wrong.
When does the clock start? Date of remand, not arrest
The 60/90-day period runs from the date the accused is first remanded to custody by the Magistrate, not from the date of physical arrest. If a person is arrested at 11 p.m. on Monday and produced before the Magistrate on Tuesday, the clock starts on Tuesday. The Supreme Court in CBI v. Kapil Wadhawan, (2024) settled that the day of remand is included and the day count is calendar days. Practically, count carefully — being one day early means the right has not yet accrued, and being one day late can mean the chargesheet has already landed.
How to apply for default bail under Section 187 BNSS
The procedure is deliberately simple, because the right is meant to be near-automatic:
- Confirm the deadline has expired and that no chargesheet (police report under Section 193 BNSS) has been filed. Check the case diary / order sheet.
- File a short application before the Magistrate (or the court to which the case is committed) stating that the statutory period has expired, no chargesheet has been filed, and the accused is ready and willing to furnish bail. This last line is essential — see the "offer and avail" rule below.
- The court must dispose of it forthwith. The Magistrate cannot adjourn it to let the police catch up; the only inquiry is factual (deadline expired? chargesheet filed?).
- Furnish the bail bond and sureties as directed, and secure release.
To claim default bail you do not have to argue the merits of the case — you only have to show the deadline passed and say, in writing, that you are ready to furnish bail.
The "ready and willing to furnish bail" line comes from the Constitution Bench in Sanjay Dutt v. State through CBI, Bombay, (1994) 5 SCC 410, which held the right is "availed of" the moment such an application is filed. In M. Ravindran v. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, (2021) 2 SCC 485, the Court confirmed that once the application is filed with a willingness to furnish bail, a chargesheet filed while the application is pending cannot defeat the right. So the golden rule for defence counsel: file the application the very day the right accrues — do not wait.
The trap: an incomplete or "skeleton" chargesheet
A common tactic is for the prosecution to file a bare, incomplete chargesheet on the 89th or 59th day — missing the FSL report, bank statements, or sanction — purely to stop the default-bail clock. Courts have held that a chargesheet filed without completing the investigation in all material respects, only to defeat the accused's right, does not amount to a valid police report. If you face a skeleton chargesheet timed to block bail, the application should specifically plead that the report is incomplete and was filed to defeat Section 187(3). This is fact-sensitive, so the exact contents of the report matter.
What BNSS changed from the old CrPC Section 167
The 60/90-day default-bail limits are unchanged from CrPC Section 167(2). What BNSS Section 187 changed is the police-custody mechanics: under the old CrPC, police remand (custody with the investigating officer) could only be sought in the first 15 days after arrest. Under BNSS, the 15-day total is retained, but it can now be sought in parts, spread across the first 40 days (offences under 10 years) or 60 days (offences of 10 years or more) of detention. This does not extend the default-bail deadline — it only changes when the police can ask for custody. The indefeasible right at 60/90 days survives intact.
How the indefeasible right is lost
The right is powerful but easy to lose:
- It ends the instant a valid chargesheet is filed — even one day before you apply. If the 90 days expired on Monday, you plan to apply Wednesday, but the chargesheet is filed Tuesday, your right is gone.
- It must be actively claimed. The court does not release the accused on its own; you must file the application.
- If bail is granted but the accused fails to furnish the bond, and the chargesheet is then filed, the right can lapse.
- Once granted, default bail is bail like any other — if the accused later breaches conditions, the prosecution can move to cancel that bail. See our guide on a bail cancellation application under BNSS Section 483, and if a condition of release is unworkable, on how to apply to modify a bail condition under BNSS Section 480.
What it costs and how long it takes
A default-bail application is one of the cheapest and fastest bail routes because there is no merits hearing. Court fees on a criminal bail application are nominal (typically ₹2–₹15 in most States); the real cost is the advocate's fee and the surety/bond. A well-prepared application is often disposed of the same day or the next, because the Magistrate is bound to decide it forthwith. Contrast this with regular bail under Sections 480–483 BNSS or anticipatory bail under BNSS Section 482, which turn on the merits and can take days to weeks.
Documents you need
- The remand order / order sheet showing the date of first remand (to prove the start of the clock).
- A record or averment that no chargesheet has been filed as on the date of the application (the case diary entry helps).
- Bail bond and surety documents (surety's ID, address, solvency proof as the local court requires).
- The FIR and arrest memo, to establish the offence and therefore the correct 60/90-day bucket.
DIY or advocate?
Default bail is genuinely procedural, but it is also unforgiving on timing and on the intermediate-category classification. A litigant-in-person can file it, but a junior advocate or duty counsel should ideally draft and move it, because a one-day error or a wrong 60-vs-90-day call forfeits the right entirely. If you cannot afford counsel, District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) provide free legal aid and are specifically meant for exactly this kind of custody-clock application.
Related on Urava: If the default-bail window has closed, the next step is a regular bail plea on merits — see our full guide to filing a regular bail application under BNSS Sections 480 and 483: which court, the grounds courts weigh, and how to draft it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is default bail under Section 187 BNSS?
Default bail is the accused's right to be released on bail when the police fail to file the chargesheet within 60 or 90 days of first remand. It does not depend on the merits of the case — only on the missed deadline. It is governed by the proviso to Section 187(3) BNSS, the successor to Section 167(2) CrPC, and the Supreme Court treats it as a fundamental right under Article 21.
Is default bail 60 days or 90 days?
It is 90 days only for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment, or a term of not less than 10 years; for all other offences it is 60 days. An offence whose maximum is 10 years but minimum is lower falls in the 60-day category, per Rakesh Kumar Paul v. State of Assam (2017). Special laws like NDPS and UAPA set their own 180-day period.
Can default bail be cancelled once granted?
Yes. Default bail is regular bail once granted, so it can be cancelled on the usual grounds — breach of conditions, tampering with evidence, or influencing witnesses — through a cancellation application under BNSS Section 483. The mere later filing of the chargesheet, however, does not by itself cancel a default bail that was validly granted after the deadline expired.
What if the police file an incomplete chargesheet just before the deadline?
A chargesheet filed without completing the investigation in material respects — only to defeat the accused's right — may not count as a valid police report. If a skeleton chargesheet lands on the 59th or 89th day, the default-bail application should specifically plead that it is incomplete and filed to stop the clock. Because this is fact-specific, the exact contents of the report decide the outcome.
Does default bail require me to prove I am innocent?
No. You do not argue innocence or the strength of the evidence at all. You only show that the statutory period expired, that no valid chargesheet was filed in time, and that you are ready to furnish bail. The court is bound to release you on those facts alone — that is what makes the right "indefeasible."
When exactly should I file the default-bail application?
File it on the very first day the deadline expires and no chargesheet has been filed — do not wait. Under M. Ravindran v. DRI (2021), the right is "availed of" the moment you file with a willingness to furnish bail, and a chargesheet filed after that cannot defeat it. Delay is the single most common reason the right is lost.
How Urava helps
Default bail turns on getting the deadline math, the correct offence category, and the case law exactly right — under time pressure. Urava produces a court-ready, citation-backed research memo on your specific facts (the offence charged, the date of remand, the special statute if any) in about ten minutes, with every judgment linked so you can verify it before you file. Ask a typed question or upload a scanned FIR or remand order in Hindi, Malayalam or English. Start free — 3 full researches a month, no card — at urava.app/register.