Can You Get Default Bail If the Chargesheet Is Filed After 60 or 90 Days?
A relative is in jail. He has been there for weeks now. Every time he is taken for remand, family members ask one another has the police filed the chargesheet yet?
Someone mentions that 60 days are about to expire. Another lawyer refers to the accused having been booked under offences which carry a default bail period of 90 days. Someone starts calculating from the day of arrest. The Court record may show a different date for the first remand.
That one day can make the difference between obtaining a statutory right to bail or not.
Section 187(3) BNSS states that ordinarily, a Magistrate shall not authorize detention of the accused in custody for a period beyond 90 days where the investigation pertains to offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for ten years or more. In other cases, the default bail period is ordinarily 60 days. After the expiry of the relevant period, if the police have not filed a report, the accused is entitled to bail subject to his willingness to furnish it.
Popularly known as default bail or statutory bail or compulsive bail.
However, there is one point on which people get confused very often: the expiry of the 60/90 days does not mean that the accused will get automatic freedom from jail. He must take steps to enforce his legal right. The accused must invoke his default-bail right timely. Once he has successfully done so after it became available, but before the chargesheet was filed by the prosecution, he cannot be denied bail on a subsequent chargesheet being finally filed. The Apex Court has held that grant of default bail is a statutory right to freedom.
Conversely, the SC’s 1 July 20 judgment in Shaurya Sunil Kumar Singh v. CBI makes clear that the filing of a chargesheet that satisfies Section 193(3) BNSS within the statutory deadline precludes default bail, even if the required copies of documents or accompanying material were furnished to the accused later.
BK Singh Advocate can help you assess whether the right to default bail has accrued by examining the arrest paperwork, first remand order, relevant offences noted in the chargesheet, relevant statutory time-period and the actual dates on which the chargesheet was received and filed by the Court.
1 day can make a difference.
Quick Facts About Default Bail Under BNSS
Section 167(3) BNSS enacts the standard 60/90-day limits on detention during investigation. The 90 days are for cases where the offense is punishable with death, life or imprisonment for ten years or more. The 60 days cover all other offenses under the regular BNSS scheme. Supreme Court jurisprudence has interpreted the statutory remand period as beginning from the date of the remand, with the right accruing upon expiry (if no chargesheet has been filed).
If the accused asserts the right to default-bail before the chargesheet is finally filed, he should ordinarily not be deprived of this right by a subsequent filing. The prompt filing of a chargesheet in the statutorily mandated form would extinguish the entitlement to default bail; tardy service of copies will not revive it. Certain special laws like UAPA and NDPS prescribe longer periods of investigation than 60/90 days.
What Documents Should Be Checked for a Default Bail Claim?
Approach to framing a default-bail opinion: Start with facts on record (do not speculate)
Documents that may be of help :-
- Copy of FIR
- Memorandum of arrest
- Order of first production/remand
- Orders of subsequent remands
- List of offences prayed for
- Penal provision for those offences
- Application/order adding fresh penal sections to invocation
- Endorsement of chargesheet filing
- Date of filing report/paper book/report with Court by police
- Any prosecution application seeking extension of period of investigation
- Order granting/denying extension, if any.
- Provisions of Special statute, if any
- Any regular bail order passed earlier
- Application for default bail, if already filed.
- Order passed on such application, if already passed.
- Certificate of custody , if relevant.
- Helpful hinges, if any special statute is involved, are the report filed by the Public Prosecutor and the order granting extension, if any.
BK Singh Advocate can use these documents to create a custody chronology indicating the date of first remand, normal expiry date, authorized extended date, if any, date of application for bail and date of chargesheet.
Such chronology often speaks volumes quicker than a bulky case file.
When Should You Consult a Default Bail Lawyer?
Legal review is preferably conducted prior to expiry of the statutory period.
Seeking consultation becomes time-critical when:-
- the accused is approaching 60 days in custody;
- the case could potentially be in the 90-day bracket;
- family are confused about when the period of remand began;
- investigation has seen addition/removal of serious sections by the police;
- the offense involves a special statute (UAPA, NDPS etc. );
- prosecution has made an application to extend investigation period;
- the 60th/90th day has already passed;
- there is no chargesheet seen in the court file;
- prosecution claims that a chargesheet was “filed”, but no copy is produced;
- you already have a pending application for default bail;
- the dates of chargesheet filing & default-bail application are identical;
- application for regular bail has already been rejected.
BK Singh Advocate can first determine whether the statutory right has accrued at all.
A premature default bail application would fail as the statutory period would not have ended. A belated application would find an intervening chargesheet.
Needless to say, Bail by Default needs timeline based on documents.
How Can Best Bail Lawyer Help in a 60-Day or 90-Day Default Bail Matter?
Default bail revolves around a simple albeit very urgent statutory query.
BK Singh Advocate will review the FIR, remand order, punishment clause, police report and special- law extension(if any) to determine applicability of Section 187(3) BNSS.
Services may involve:
- Determining which period applies – 60/90 days.
- Checking if a special statute extends/reduces the period.
- Computing custody from which date of remand.
- Scrutinizing court record for chargesheet filing.
- Scrutinizing any extension order passed.
- Drafting high court level default- bail application.
- Explaining the difference between default bail and regular bail.
- Scrutinizing rejection order to determine if any further legal recourse is available.
Review is based on actual court record/receipts.
BK Singh Advocate never assumes a calendar date expiry is sufficient. He reviews the offence which attracted the arrest and chargesheet status.
No attorney can assure the client that he will get bail because X number of days have passed in custody.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I claim default bail after 60 days if no chargesheet has been filed?
Yes, usually. If your case falls under Section 187(3)(ii), then the default bail period is usually 60 days. After 60 days have passed without filing of the necessary chargesheet, the accused person will become entitled to receive default bail upon his readiness to give bail and subject to no special law applying. BK Singh Advocate can determine the expiry date.
2. Which offences normally attract 90 days for investigation?
Section 187(3)(i) BNSS specifies that 90 days are applicable where the offence under investigation is punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for ten years or more. BK Singh Advocate can check the punishment to determine multiple sections instead of guessing the period from the FIR text.
3. Does default bail become automatic from the 61st or 91st day?
The right to default bail automatically arises when the required time has passed without filing of the police report, but actual liberation from jail depends on the accused asking for it and furnishing bail. Detention automatically continues till bail is furnished, as mentioned in Section 187 itself.
4. What happens if they file a chargesheet after 60 days but before me applying for default bail?
The timing becomes important. The recent Supreme Court decisions preserve an accused person’s right only if he has exercised that right validly before filing of the subsequent chargesheet. If a legally compliant chargesheet has already been filed before the accused tries to invoke his default-bail right, then the default bail claim might not succeed. BK Singh Advocate can look at both dates.
5. What happens if I file my default-bail application before police file chargesheet that same day?
The Supreme Court has laid down that if the accused has rightly claimed his default-bail right before chargesheet is filed, he should not lose that right merely because the police filed the chargesheet later that day. The exact time should be noted and court documents should be preserved.
6. Can I demand default bail because they were late in giving me the chargesheet copy?
No, not for that reason alone. In Shaurya Sunil Kumar Singh v. CBI, decided on 1 July 2026, the SC held that delay in filing or supplying additional copy of chargesheet under Section 193(8) does not entitle an accused to default bail if an original chargesheet fulfilling Section 193(3) requirements was filed within the stipulated time.
7. Does the 90-day rule apply to commercial quantity NDPS cases?
No, NDPS has its own provisions. Section 36A(4) NDPS specifically allows 180 days for certain enumerated offences under NDPS Act, including commercial-quantity offences. Further extensions up to one year are also allowed from the 180 days if certain requirements are fulfilled. BK Singh Advocate can look if that special law applies.
8. What is the default bail period if my case is filed under UAPA?
Under UAPA, the default bail period is 90 days instead of 60, and the Competent court can further extend the time allowed for investigation up to 180 days after satisfying certain requirements. So do not try to calculate 60 days default bail period for UAPA cases.
9. What if I lost my opportunity to claim default bail? Can I still file for regular bail?
Yes. Default bail is a special kind of bail. If a chargesheet was filed on time, the default bail claim would not be available. But the accused can still apply for bail under the usual “regular bail” laws. BK Singh Advocate can determine the best option depending on what stage the case is at.
10. What should I do if the 60th or 90th day is near?
Get the judge’s orders, check the offences and punishment, see if any special law applies and then check if a chargesheet or an extension was filed from the court file. BK Singh Advocate can determine the date based on the recorded custody than counting fingers.
Final Thoughts
Default bail is bail given to a person because of the expiration of time for custodial interrogation under Section 167. Bail under Section 187 BNSS is a legal remedy which protects against investigative detention outside statutory limits.
60 or 90 Days?
Simple arithmetic based on the first point above. But for regular offences, a lawyer must know whether 60 or 90 days is applicable. Rule 90 days where the offence is punishable with death, life or imprisonment for 10+ years. Else 60 days.
This is only half the battle.
Knowing the Applicable Remand Date
A lawyer must first find out the date of the relevant remand, examine if a special law extends the period, ascertain if achargesheet was filed properly and if the accused asked for default bail before an intervening police report.
Strictly speaking, late provision of chargesheet copies doesn’t entitle one to default bail if the relevant police report was filed on time, as clarified by the Supreme Court on July 2026.
Additionally, UAPA and non-bailable NDPS offences provide for longer periods of investigation.
BK Singh Advocate can go through your custody history, relevant FIR offences, remand sheet, remand extension rulings and date of chargesheet in order to recommend if you should ask for default bail, regular bail or some other form of bail.
Defaults bail is often the right itself.
Author Bio
BK Singh Advocate handles criminal bail matters through Best Bail Lawyer, including default bail under Section 187 BNSS, regular bail, anticipatory bail, bail after chargesheet and matters involving special criminal statutes. His work includes examining FIR provisions, punishment clauses, arrest and remand records, custody calculations, chargesheet filing dates and statutory extensions before assessing the appropriate bail remedy. He advises accused persons and families in Delhi NCR and other parts of India. Every bail matter depends on its own offences, custody history and court record, and no particular bail or release outcome can be guaranteed.