Short answer: No one arrested without a warrant can be kept by the police for more than 24 hours, excluding journey time, without being produced before a Magistrate. Any further detention needs the Magistrate’s order under BNSS Section 187, and if the chargesheet is not filed within 60 or 90 days, the accused has a right to default bail.
What the law says
Article 22(2) of the Constitution and BNSS Section 58 require production before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, excluding the time needed for the journey. Detention beyond that without a court order is unlawful.
When the investigation cannot be finished within 24 hours, the police must produce the person with the case diary and seek remand under Section 187. The Magistrate may authorise police custody or judicial custody. Police custody may total no more than 15 days. In State of Andhra Pradesh v. Suda Suresh Veera Venkata Naga Raju (27 July 2026), the Supreme Court held that these 15 days may be granted in parts within the first 40 days of the remand period, for offences punishable up to ten years, or within the first 60 days for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or ten years or more.
Default bail is in Section 187(3). If the chargesheet is not filed within 60 days, or 90 days for the more serious offences, the accused is entitled to be released on bail if ready to furnish it. This right has to be claimed by an application before the chargesheet is filed.
Between remand dates, the person is usually in judicial custody, which means jail under the court’s control rather than the police station. Each extension of detention needs a fresh order, and the Magistrate is expected to look at the case diary and the progress of the investigation each time, not simply extend custody as a routine.
What the family should do, in order
- Note the time of arrest. Ask for the arrest memo (BNSS Section 36) and the written grounds of arrest. The 24 hours run from arrest.
- Find out where the person is held. The police must inform a relative or friend of the arrest and the place of custody (BNSS Section 48).
- Engage an advocate for the first production. The remand hearing is the first chance to oppose police custody or ask for bail.
- Keep track of dates. Count the days from the first remand order. Note when 60 or 90 days will end.
- Apply for default bail on time. If the chargesheet has not been filed when the period ends, apply at once, with sureties ready.
- If production has not happened, act fast. Write to the senior officers and the Magistrate, and consider a habeas corpus petition before the High Court.
Your rights during custody
- Grounds of arrest in writing, in a language you understand, given in time before production for remand, as required by the Supreme Court in Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra (2025).
- Medical examination of the arrested person under BNSS Section 53.
- Meeting an advocate during interrogation, though not throughout (BNSS Section 38).
- Safeguards in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997), including a proper arrest memo and information to family.
Our page on rights after arrest in India lists these protections in more detail.
Common questions
Does the 24-hour limit include Sundays or holidays?
Yes. The limit applies every day. Duty Magistrates are available for production on holidays.
Can police custody be asked for again after judicial custody?
Under the Supreme Court’s 2026 ruling, the 15 days of police custody may be split and sought in parts within the 40 or 60 day window, subject to the Magistrate’s satisfaction each time.
Is default bail lost if the chargesheet is filed later the same day?
The right must be claimed by an application before the chargesheet is filed. Timing matters, so the application should be ready in advance.
What is habeas corpus?
It is a writ petition, usually under Article 226 before the High Court, asking that a detained person be produced and released if the detention is unlawful.
When to speak to an advocate
Immediately after an arrest. Most important points, such as written grounds, production on time and the first remand, are decided within the first day.
Sources: Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (India Code).
For a confidential discussion about a family member in custody in Noida, Greater Noida or Delhi NCR, see Criminal Lawyer, Surajpur Court, Greater Noida.
General legal information only; not legal advice or solicitation.
