Default bail is not about the merits of the case at all. It is a statutory consequence of the investigating agency missing a deadline, and it is one of the strongest protections an accused person has.
The provision and the periods
Under the proviso to Section 187 of the BNSS, which carries forward Section 167(2) CrPC, an accused in custody must be released on bail if the investigation is not completed within:
- 90 days, where the offence is punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years
- 60 days, for any other offence
Special statutes extend these periods, for instance under the UAPA and the NDPS Act, and those extensions have their own conditions.
How the right works
- The period is counted from the date of first remand, not the date of arrest, and the Supreme Court has confirmed the day of remand is excluded in the computation.
- On expiry, the accused must apply and must be prepared to furnish bail. It is not automatic release.
- The court is obliged to grant it. It cannot refuse on the ground that the offence is serious.
The right is described as indefeasible, but only if it is exercised. If the chargesheet is filed before you apply, the right is extinguished and you are back to arguing regular bail on the merits. Diarise the sixtieth and ninetieth day from remand and apply on the day the period expires, not a week later.
An incomplete chargesheet does not defeat it
Courts have repeatedly held that filing a preliminary, incomplete or "part" chargesheet purely to defeat the right to default bail does not count. If material particulars or sanction are missing and the document could not support cognizance, the right survives. This is a fact-sensitive argument and worth taking.
It can be cancelled
Default bail is granted because of a procedural default, not on the merits, so it can be cancelled on the usual grounds such as tampering with evidence or violating conditions.