The Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that under Section 187(3)(ii) of the BNSS, the statutory 60-day period for filing the charge sheet is to be computed by including the date of remand, and the last day is to be counted even if it falls on a Sunday or court holiday. The provisions of the General Clauses Act and the Limitation Act do not apply to extend this period. If the charge sheet is filed on the 61st day or any later day, including where the Court remained closed during the intervening period, such filing constitutes non-compliance with the mandatory requirement under Section 187(3)(ii) of the BNSS, and default bail can be granted.
The Court further held that to avoid such non-compliance, the prosecution may submit the charge sheet before the remand/duty Magistrate, and the accused may even make an oral application for default bail before such Magistrate. Once the right to default bail accrues and is availed before filing of the charge sheet, the merits and demerits of the case are irrelevant.
Applying the same, the High Court held that the petitioner had acquired an indefeasible right to default bail because the challan was filed after expiry of 60 days and after the petitioner had already moved his default bail application. Accordingly, the revision was allowed and the petitioner was directed to be released on bail.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Dwarka Dhish Bansal observed that the days during which the Courts remained closed could not be excluded while computing the statutory period of 60 days under Section 187(3)(ii) of the BNSS, and therefore filing of the challan on January 05, 2026 was beyond the permissible period.
The Bench framed and answered seven legal questions, including whether the last day being a holiday is to be counted, whether the date of remand is to be included, whether default bail can be granted where the charge sheet is filed after the 60th day because of court holidays, whether the charge sheet can be filed before the remand/duty Magistrate, whether an oral request for default bail is sufficient, and whether merits of the case are relevant while deciding default bail.
The Bench observed that the law was already settled by the coordinate Bench decision in Raja Bhaiya Singh v. State of M.P. [2021 Cr.L.J. 2513], and that this position was affirmed by the Division Bench in Kalla Mallah vs. State of Madhya Pradesh [2022 Supreme (Online)(MP) 12008]. The Bench reiterated that default bail under Section 167(2) CrPC, corresponding to Section 187 BNSS, is an indefeasible right linked to Article 21.
The Bench further observed, relying on Enforcement Directorate, Government of India vs. Kapil Wadhawan [2023 INSC 723], that the 60/90-day period is to be computed from the date of remand, the date of remand is included, and the General Clauses Act or Limitation Act does not apply for extending such period.
The filing of the charge sheet after expiry of the stipulated period, even on the same day after the accused has already availed the right by moving a default bail application, does not extinguish the accused’s right, added the Bench, while emphasising that an oral application before the remand/duty Magistrate is sufficient if the accused is prepared to furnish bail.
The Bench therefore expressly criticized the Special Judge, NDPS Court, for not following the settled and binding legal position and for dismissing the default bail application on extraneous reasons despite accrual of an indefeasible right in favour of the petitioner.
Briefly, the petitioner filed a criminal revision under Sections 438/442 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, challenging the order dated January 08, 2026 passed by the Special Judge, NDPS Act, Bhopal, whereby his first application under Section 187(2) of the BNSS for default bail was dismissed.
As per the prosecution case, the petitioner and co-accused Mandeep Singh were found in possession of 4632.80 grams of hydroponic cannabis (ganja) while travelling in a train, and were arrested on November 02, 2025 for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(B), 28, 29, 35 and 54 of the NDPS Act. Remand was also ordered on November 03, 2025.
Since the recovered quantity was lesser than commercial quantity but greater than small quantity, Section 187(3)(ii) of the BNSS applied, and therefore the charge sheet was required to be filed within 60 days from the date of remand. The challan was however filed on January 05, 2026 at 1:00 p.m., whereas the petitioner had filed his application for default bail earlier on the same day at 12:30 p.m. On proper computation including the date of remand, the 60-day period expired on January 01, 2026.
The Courts remained closed due to winter vacation from January 01, 2026 to January 04, 2026, and reopened on January 05, 2026. Despite holidays, the challan could have been filed before the Magistrate available on remand duty, but it was filed only before the Special Court on January 05, 2026.
Appearances:
Advocates Vidhan Mishra, Hritik Dubey, and Divyansh Soni, for the Petitioner
