Can police keep someone for more than 15 days under BNSS?

For serious offences specified by State Governments, BNSS Section 187 allows police custody up to 40 days (in instalments). This is a significant expansion from CrPC's absolute 15-day maximum and is the most controversial change in the BNSS remand provisions.

Is the default bail provision changed in BNSS?

No — the default bail timelines (60 days for most offences, 90 days for serious offences) are preserved in BNSS Section 187(2). If chargesheet is not filed within these periods, the accused retains the absolute right to bail.

Section 187 — Remand — Extended Police Custody and Default Bail Provisions | Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita | LawCodeHub

Section 187(1): Whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody in which the investigation cannot be completed within the period of twenty-four hours fixed by Section 58 and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well-founded, the officer in charge of the police station shall forthwith transmit to the nearest Judicial Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary. Section 187(2): The Magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded under this section may, whether he has or has not jurisdiction to try the case, from time to time, authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as such Magistrate thinks fit, for a term not exceeding fifteen days in the whole: Provided that the custody of an accused may be authorised, for a period not exceeding forty days, in such cases and for such offences as the State Government may by notification, specify.

Explanation

BNSS Section 187 preserves the CrPC Section 167 remand framework but introduces the most controversial change in the BNSS — extending police custody beyond CrPC's absolute 15-day limit for specified serious offences. Under CrPC, the maximum police custody (in police station) was 15 days in total during the entire investigation — this was a hard constitutional safeguard. BNSS Section 187 allows State Governments to specify offences for which police custody can be extended up to 40 days (in instalments). This means for specified serious offences (terrorism, organised crime, etc.), the accused may spend up to 40 days in police custody rather than 15. Critics argue this expansion enables extended interrogation and potentially coercive methods; supporters argue that complex terrorism and organised crime investigations genuinely require more investigative access to the accused. The 60/90-day default bail provision is preserved intact — the chargesheet must still be filed within these deadlines, and failure to file results in the accused's absolute right to bail.

Remand — Extended Police Custody and Default Bail Provisions

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