Default bail calculator
The 60- and 90-day limits in section 187 of the BNSS, and the undertrial release point in section 479.
The first remand order. Detention authorised by an Executive Magistrate under s. 187(6) counts towards the total.
General BNSS rule only. Special laws can set or allow different detention periods — the UAPA and the NDPS Act are examples — and a court order in the case may extend or change them. This calculator does not override the special law or the order.
Under section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, a Magistrate may not authorise detention during investigation for more than 90 days where the offence is punishable with death, life imprisonment or ten years or more, or 60 days for any other offence, counting the date of the first remand as day one. If the police report is not filed within that period, the accused may claim default bail and is released on furnishing it. Separately, section 479 requires release of an undertrial who has been detained for half the maximum sentence — one-third for a first-time offender — unless the court records reasons otherwise.
Key takeaways
- The limit is 90 days for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or ten years or more, and 60 days for everything else (s. 187(3)). The remand date is day one (ED v. Kapil Wadhawan, 2023).
- Police custody within that period is fifteen days in all, and only within the first 60 days of a 90-day case or the first 40 of a 60-day case (s. 187(2)).
- Default bail has to be claimed at the legally relevant time, and the accused must be prepared to furnish bail; detention may continue until it is furnished (s. 187(3), Explanation I).
- Section 479 is a different clock, running through investigation and trial: half the maximum sentence, or one-third for a first-time offender. It does not apply to offences punishable with death or life imprisonment.
- Neither clock is a guarantee of release — both have conditions, and the court applies them to the facts.
Up to 15 days of police custody, only within the first 60 days (shaded); the rest is judicial custody.
Up to 15 days of police custody, only within the first 40 days (shaded); the rest is judicial custody.
BNSS s. 187(2) and (3). Both bars share one scale of 90 days.
How the calculator works
Default bail. You choose which category the offence falls in and enter the date the Magistrate first authorised detention. The tool counts 90 or 60 days from that date, treating the remand date as day one — the method the Supreme Court settled in 2023, explained below. It also gives the last date on which police custody may be authorised. The result is the same whatever date your device shows as today.
Undertrial release. You enter the maximum imprisonment for the offence in whole years, whether the person is a first-time offender, and the date detention began. The tool takes one-half of the maximum (or one-third) in months and adds it to the start date by calendar month. It does not subtract time lost to delay caused by the accused, or decide whether more than one case is pending — both are for the court, and both are listed with the result.
| Death, life, or 10 years or more | Any other offence | |
|---|---|---|
| Longest total detention during investigation | 90 days | 60 days |
| Police custody, in all | 15 days | 15 days |
| Police custody only within the first | 60 days | 40 days |
| On expiry without completion of investigation | Released on bail if furnished | Released on bail if furnished |
BNSS s. 187(2) and (3). Detention authorised by an Executive Magistrate under s. 187(6), for up to seven days where a Judicial Magistrate is not available, counts towards the total.
Is the remand date counted? How the 60 or 90 days are computed
Yes. In Enforcement Directorate v. Kapil Wadhawan (Criminal Appeal Nos. 701–702 of 2020, decided 27 March 2023), a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that the 60- or 90-day period is computed from the date the Magistrate authorises remand, with that date included. The accused in that case were remanded on 14 May 2020; the Court held the charge-sheet ought to have been filed by 12 July 2020, the sixtieth day, and filing it on 13 July, the sixty-first day, entitled them to default bail.
- Day 1 — the remand order14 May 2020
The date the Magistrate first authorises detention counts as the first day.
- Day 40 — last day police custody may fall in22 June 2020
Any police custody has to be authorised within this window; after it, custody is judicial (s. 187(2)).
- Filing the report is on the police’s timetable
What the accused controls is what happens once it runs out: claiming default bail in time, and being ready to furnish bail.
Day 60 — last day for the police report12 July 2020In a sixty-day case the charge-sheet had to be filed by the end of this day.
- Day 61 — the right to default bail accrues13 July 2020
The moment the period expires without a report, an indefeasible right to default bail accrues. A report filed on or after this day comes too late.
No report by the last day? Claim default bail at the legally relevant time and be prepared to furnish bail — count your own dates in the calculator →
Dates from ED v. Kapil Wadhawan (2023), counted with this calculator’s rule for a sixty-day case. A ninety-day case runs the same way to day 90. Check the operative remand order: a second remand, a transfer or detention under another law can change which date matters.
The Court’s reasoning was that excluding the first day would stretch detention beyond the permitted period, and that personal liberty requires any gap in the law to be read in the accused’s favour. It also said that the moment the period expires, an indefeasible right to default bail accrues. So a report filed on or after the 61st or 91st day comes too late.
One caution. The judgment interpreted section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and section 187 of the BNSS is its counterpart, with the same 60- and 90-day limits. Check the dates against the operative remand order with counsel, because a second remand, a transfer, or detention under another law can change which date matters.
| First remand | Limit | Last day of the period | A report filed on this day is late |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May 2020 (the Kapil Wadhawan facts) | 60 days | 12 July 2020 | 13 July 2020 |
| 1 March 2026 | 90 days | 29 May 2026 | 30 May 2026 |
| 10 January 2026 | 60 days | 10 March 2026 | 11 March 2026 |
Day N is the remand date plus N − 1 days. Supreme Court of India, ED v. Kapil Wadhawan, 27 March 2023, paragraphs 34 and 50.
When this calculator does not apply: UAPA, NDPS and court orders
This is the general rule in section 187 of the BNSS. Special statutes can prescribe or permit different detention periods — the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act are examples — and where a special law applies, it governs, as does any order the court has made in the case.
The calculator does not know which law the case is under or what the court has ordered, and it does not override either. Use it for offences where the BNSS limits apply, and read the remand application and the Magistrate’s orders for the sections actually invoked.
Investigations already pending on 1 July 2024 continue under the Code of Criminal Procedure (BNSS s. 531(2)(a)), so the provision in those cases is section 167(2) of the CrPC. The tool flags a remand date before 1 July 2024.
Which category is the offence in?
The test is the punishment the law prescribes for the offence under investigation, not what a court might award. If the section provides death or life imprisonment as one of the punishments, or a term that can reach ten years, the 90-day limit applies. Everything else is 60 days.
Examples read from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: murder (s. 103), rape (s. 64) and abetment of suicide (s. 108, up to ten years) are 90-day offences. Cheating under s. 318(4) (up to seven years) and criminal breach of trust under s. 316(2) (up to five) are 60-day offences. Where the classification is unclear — several offences charged together, or a special law — the investigating officer’s remand application and the Magistrate’s order will state the sections, and that is where to look.
Undertrial release under section 479
Section 479 applies at every stage — investigation, inquiry and trial — and to offences under any law, except those for which death or life imprisonment is one of the punishments. It is not a limit on what a Magistrate may authorise; it is a duty on the court to release once the threshold is reached.
| Maximum sentence | One-half (release on bail) | One-third, first-time offender (release on bond) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 6 months | 4 months |
| 3 years | 1 year 6 months | 1 year |
| 5 years | 2 years 6 months | 1 year 8 months |
| 7 years | 3 years 6 months | 2 years 4 months |
| 10 years | 5 years | 3 years 4 months |
The court may, after hearing the Public Prosecutor and for reasons recorded in writing, order continued detention beyond one-half, or release on bail bond instead of bond. No one may be detained for longer than the maximum sentence. Time lost to delay caused by the accused is excluded, and s. 479(2) bars release where more than one offence or case is pending.
Worked examples
Example 1: A murder investigation
- Offence
- BNS 103, murder — punishable with death
- First remand
- 1 March 2026
- 1.Punishable with death, so the 90-day limit applies (s. 187(3)(i)).
- 2.Counting 1 March as day one, as Kapil Wadhawan requires: March gives 31 days, April 30 more (61), and 29 May is day 90.
- 3.Police custody can only be authorised within the first 60 days: up to 29 April 2026, counting 1 March as day one.
If no police report is filed by 29 May 2026, the accused may claim default bail — a report filed on 30 May is late — and is released on furnishing bail.
Example 2: A cheating investigation
- Offence
- BNS 318(4) — up to seven years
- First remand
- 10 January 2026
- 1.The maximum is below ten years, so the 60-day limit applies (s. 187(3)(ii)).
- 2.Counting 10 January as day one: 22 days to 31 January, 28 more in February (50), and 10 March is day 60.
- 3.Police custody only within the first 40 days: up to 18 February 2026.
If no police report is filed by 10 March 2026, the accused may claim default bail and is released once bail is furnished.
Example 3: An undertrial on a seven-year charge
- Maximum sentence
- 7 years
- Detained since
- 15 August 2023
- Previous convictions
- None
- 1.Not punishable with death or life, so s. 479 applies.
- 2.A first-time offender: one-third of 84 months is 28 months.
- 3.15 August 2023 plus 28 months is 15 December 2025. Without first-offender status, one-half is 42 months: 15 February 2027.
The court is to release on bond from 15 December 2025, subject to the conditions in s. 479.
More questions about this page
What is default bail under BNSS section 187?▼
Is default bail 60 or 90 days?▼
How many days of police custody are allowed under BNSS?▼
Does the accused get released automatically after 90 days?▼
Is the date of remand included in the 60 or 90 days?▼
What is section 479 of the BNSS?▼
Can the court refuse release under section 479?▼
Official sources checked
The statutes, rules and regulator pages the statements on this page were checked against.
- Read 13 September 2026: detention limits, police custody window, Executive Magistrate detention, Explanations I and II; undertrial release thresholds and provisos.
- Three judges. The 60/90-day period under CrPC s. 167(2) is computed from the date of remand, which is included (paragraphs 34 and 50); default bail accrues the moment the period expires.
- Punishments used in the examples.
Not legal advice. GetNyay is not a law firm and does not practise law. The dates are counted from what you enter; whether the conditions are met is decided by the court. A person in custody is entitled to free legal aid whatever their income — contact the District Legal Services Authority, or call NALSA on 15100.