Bail: how it works and where to apply

General information, not legal advice. This guide explains the usual steps in plain words. Every case has its own facts, and the law and the rules change. For a serious matter, speak to a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, you may get one free: call 15100. Last checked November 2026.

For a bailable offence, bail is a right. For others, a court decides. There is also bail before arrest.

What to do, step by step

1. Ask whether the offence is bailable. For a bailable offence the police or the court must release you if you give a bond or surety. It is a right.
2. For a non bailable offence, apply to the Magistrate or the Sessions Court. The judge looks at the seriousness of the charge, the risk of running away, tampering with evidence or threatening witnesses.
3. If you fear arrest, a lawyer can apply for anticipatory bail (bail before arrest) in the Sessions Court or the High Court.
4. If the investigation is not finished in time, you get default bail: 60 days in most cases, 90 days where the offence carries death, life or 10 years or more. You must apply before the charge sheet is filed.
5. If you have been in jail as an undertrial for half of the longest sentence the offence carries (one third for a first offender), you can ask to be released on a personal bond. This does not apply to offences with death or life imprisonment.
6. If bail is refused, you can go to the Sessions Court and then the High Court.
7. Bail comes with conditions, such as attending court and not leaving the city. Break them and bail can be cancelled.

Where to go

• The Magistrate's court where the case is pending
• Sessions Court of the district
• The High Court
• DLSA legal aid counter at the court

What to carry

• Copy of the FIR and arrest memo
• ID and address proof for you and your surety
• Surety's ID, address proof and property or income proof
• Photographs as the court asks

Time limits

• Default bail: 60 or 90 days from the first remand, depending on the offence.
• Undertrial release: after half (or one third) of the maximum sentence served.

What the law says

• BNSS section 478: bail in bailable offences [old CrPC 436]
• BNSS section 479: maximum period of detention as undertrial [old CrPC 436A]
• BNSS section 480: bail in non bailable offences [old CrPC 437]
• BNSS section 482: anticipatory bail [old CrPC 438]
• BNSS section 483: special powers of High Court and Sessions Court [old CrPC 439]
• BNSS section 187(3): default bail [old CrPC 167(2)]
• For offences committed before 1 July 2024 the old CrPC rules are applied by the courts.

If it does not work

• Apply again after a change in circumstances, or go to the higher court.
• Ask the legal aid lawyer to apply if you cannot afford one.

Free help

• Free lawyers are available in custody. Call 15100 or ask the DLSA at the court.

Sources

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, sections 478 to 483, 187
• Delhi Police Academy, CrPC to BNSS table

Related

Arrested or detained: your rights

Section numbers are from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other Acts, with the old number in square brackets. For events before 1 July 2024 the old law (CrPC, IPC) applies. Spotted a mistake? Corrections are welcome.