How Long Does Delhi Police Get to File a Chargesheet?

The chargesheet time limit in one answer

There is no single chargesheet time limit for every case. The law fixes a hard deadline only when the accused is in custody. Under Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (old Section 167(2) CrPC), a magistrate cannot keep an accused in custody beyond 90 days where the offence is punishable with death, life imprisonment or imprisonment of ten years or more, and beyond 60 days for any other offence, unless the police report is filed. If it is not, the accused is entitled to be released on bail.

That deadline does not stop the investigation. The police can keep investigating and file the chargesheet on the 61st day or the 200th day. What they lose is the right to keep the accused in jail without a report. This is why people talk about the 60 days 90 days chargesheet rule as a bail rule, not an investigation rule.

When the accused has not been arrested, or has been released on bail, there is no general outer deadline. Section 193(1) BNSS (old Section 173(1) CrPC) says every investigation must be completed without unnecessary delay. In practice some Delhi Police investigations finish in a few months and others drag on for years, especially in cheating cases, property disputes and cases waiting for a forensic or handwriting report.

A few kinds of cases have their own timelines, set out below. If the FIR was registered before 1 July 2024, the same rules apply under the CrPC, with the old section numbers.

The provisions that set the time for a chargesheet

When the accused is in custody: counting 60 or 90 days

The period runs from the date the magistrate first authorised detention, not from the date of the FIR or the date the police say they made the arrest. The Supreme Court in ED v. Kapil Wadhawan (2023) held that the day of remand is counted. So if the first remand was on 5 March in a 60-day case, the 60th day falls on 3 May, and the right accrues if no chargesheet is filed by the end of that day.

Which limit applies depends on the maximum punishment for the offence, not on the sections the police later add. For offences punishable with exactly ten years at most, whether 60 or 90 days applies has been disputed between High Courts, so check the latest Delhi High Court view before relying on either number. For most cheating, hurt, theft and dowry cases the limit is 60 days; for murder, rape, dacoity and attempt to murder it is 90.

The right is lost if it is not claimed in time. If the chargesheet is filed before the accused applies, even by a few hours after the deadline, the right is generally gone (M. Ravindran v. DRI, 2020). Our guide on default bail and when you can claim it walks through the claim itself, and our service page on default bail when the chargesheet is not filed in time explains the High Court route when a claim is wrongly refused.

When nobody is in custody: is there any limit at all?

This is the question we hear most often from people who were named in an FIR, joined the investigation after a notice or got anticipatory bail, and then heard nothing for a year or more. The honest answer is that the BNSS fixes no general outer limit for filing a chargesheet when nobody is in custody. The police are expected to finish without unnecessary delay, and the courts can step in if the delay becomes unreasonable.

Delay often helps the accused more than it hurts. A person on anticipatory bail is protected throughout, and under Siddharth v. State of U.P. (2021) and Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022), an accused who cooperated and was not arrested should not be taken into custody merely because the chargesheet is later filed. Our guide on anticipatory bail after a chargesheet is filed explains what happens then.

Delay can hurt in other ways. A pending FIR can affect a passport application, a job verification, a visa or a government tender. For those situations, the practical step is to get a status report from the police or to move the magistrate or High Court for directions, rather than waiting indefinitely.

For minor offences, limitation for cognizance can also come into play. Where the maximum sentence is three years or less, a court generally cannot take cognizance after the period in Section 514 BNSS, unless delay is condoned. This matters in old non-serious FIRs where the police file years later.

Summons cases, and rape and POCSO cases

A summons case is one punishable with imprisonment of up to two years. In such a case, if the accused was arrested and the investigation is not concluded within six months of the arrest, Section 187(9) BNSS requires the magistrate to stop further investigation, unless the IO satisfies the court that there are special reasons and that continuing is in the interest of justice. The Sessions Judge can set aside the order. This provision is little used in practice, but it is worth raising in an old minor case where the police have done nothing.

For rape offences under Sections 64 to 71 BNS and offences under the POCSO Act, Section 193(2) BNSS requires investigation to be completed within two months from the date the information was recorded. The deadline is meant to protect victims. If it is missed, the chargesheet is not invalid, but the delay can be raised before senior officers or the court, and it bears on bail where the accused is in custody.

In all cases, Section 193(3) BNSS now requires the police to tell the informant or victim about the progress of the investigation within 90 days. Many complainants do not know they can ask for this.

Special laws: NDPS, UAPA, MCOCA and ED cases

Some laws give the investigating agency longer before default bail arises. Under Section 36A(4) of the NDPS Act, the period for offences involving commercial quantity and certain other offences is 180 days, extendable up to one year on a report by the public prosecutor showing progress and reasons. Under Section 43D(2) of UAPA, 90 days can be extended to 180 days on a similar report. MCOCA, which applies in Delhi, also allows a longer period with a prosecutor's report.

Extensions are not automatic. The accused must be produced and heard, and the prosecutor's report must show actual progress and specific reasons. Extensions granted on a routine police request, or without notice to the accused, have been set aside by the courts. For drug cases, see our page on NDPS bail in the Delhi High Court.

In ED cases, the agency files a prosecution complaint rather than a chargesheet, but the 60 and 90 day custody limits of Section 187 BNSS still apply to a person arrested under Section 19 PMLA. CBI cases follow the ordinary limits unless a special law applies.

Why some Delhi Police investigations take so long

In our experience, long delays in Delhi usually come from a handful of causes rather than idleness alone. Forensic reports are the first: mobile phone extraction, DNA, handwriting and document examination can each take months. Bank records are the second, especially in cheating and cyber fraud cases where the money passed through several accounts in different banks and states. Transfer of the IO is the third; a new officer often starts by re-reading the file.

Some delays are tactical. Where an accused is on anticipatory bail and the complainant has lost interest, the file may simply sit. Where the case is politically or commercially sensitive, investigation can slow down or speed up for reasons that have little to do with evidence. Knowing which kind of delay you are facing helps decide whether to push, to wait, or to go to court.

Chargesheet time limits at a glance

How to find out whether the chargesheet has been filed

1. Note the FIR and remand details

   Write down the FIR number, police station, sections and, if there was an arrest, the date of first remand and the magistrate's court. These are the keys for every search.

2. Check the court's case status

   Once a chargesheet is filed, the case gets a number in the magistrate's court. Search the eCourts portal for the district by FIR number or party name. In custody cases, the remand court's order sheet records the filing.

3. Ask the IO in writing

   Write to the IO and the SHO asking for the status. Under Section 193(3) BNSS, the informant or victim is entitled to an update within 90 days. Keep a copy with the date.

4. Inspect the court file

   Your lawyer can inspect the file in the magistrate's court to see if a report has been received, and whether it is complete or a supplementary report is awaited.

5. Calendar the deadline

   In a custody case, mark the 60th or 90th day and keep a default bail application signed and ready for that day. Do not rely on the IO's word that the report is being filed.

6. Act on delay

   If nothing has moved in months, write to the DCP of the district, then consider an application before the magistrate or a petition in the High Court, as explained below.

Delay in chargesheet: what the accused can do

If the accused is in custody, the main tool is default bail once the deadline passes. Even before then, a long delay in investigation with no real progress is a ground for regular bail: the court asks why custody is needed if the police are not using it. Our page on bail from the Delhi High Court covers the High Court stage when the lower courts refuse. Our guide on how long bail takes in the Delhi High Court gives realistic timeframes for each stage.

If the accused is not in custody, delay is mostly an inconvenience, but it can become a real problem for travel, jobs and passports. The High Court can be asked under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC) or Article 226 to direct the police to complete the investigation within a fixed time. Quashing an FIR only because of delay is rare; it needs a long, unexplained delay with real prejudice, and usually some weakness in the case itself. See our page on quashing an FIR in the Delhi High Court.

Watch for a chargesheet filed in a hurry just before the default bail deadline. A report filed without real investigation, only to defeat bail, can be challenged. But a chargesheet is not treated as incomplete merely because a forensic report is awaited or further investigation continues against others. The law on this has moved in recent years, so check the current position before arguing it.

Delay in chargesheet: what the complainant can do

For complainants, delay is the more painful problem. Start in writing: a letter to the IO and SHO asking for the progress under Section 193(3) BNSS, then to the ACP and DCP of the district if there is no response. Attach the FIR and a short note of what evidence you have given and what has not been collected.

If that fails, the magistrate who has jurisdiction over the police station can be asked to monitor the investigation. The Supreme Court in Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P. (2008) said the magistrate's power to order investigation includes the power to see that it is done properly. Where the investigation is biased or the local police are hostile, a writ petition in the High Court can seek directions or a transfer of investigation to another unit such as the Crime Branch or EOW. Our page on police inaction in Delhi explains the options in order.

Be realistic about forensic delays. Many Delhi cases wait for a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory at Rohini, a handwriting expert or a cyber cell. Pushing the IO rarely speeds these up; a court direction to the laboratory sometimes does.

Closure reports, untraced reports and supplementary chargesheets

Not every investigation ends in a chargesheet. If the police find no offence or not enough evidence, they file a closure report, often called a cancellation report in Delhi. If the offence happened but the culprit could not be found, as in many thefts and online frauds, they file an untraced report. Both go to the magistrate, who must give the complainant notice and a chance to file a protest petition before accepting the report.

A magistrate is not bound by a closure report. The magistrate can accept it, direct further investigation, or treat the protest petition as a complaint and take cognizance on the material on record. For the accused, a closure report is good news but not the end until the court accepts it. For the complainant, the notice of the closure report is the moment to act, with documents showing what the police ignored.

A chargesheet can also be followed by a supplementary chargesheet. The police often file the main report against the arrested accused within 60 or 90 days and continue investigating others, the money trail or pending forensic reports. Under Section 193(9) BNSS, further investigation during trial must be completed within 90 days unless the court allows more time. This is new: under the CrPC there was no such limit.

People sometimes treat a supplementary chargesheet as a fresh case. It is not. It is added to the same file, and the court considers it with the main report when framing charges. But a person named for the first time in a supplementary chargesheet may need fresh advice on bail, since the earlier orders did not cover him.

Documents to keep when tracking a chargesheet

• FIR copy with the sections and the date of registration
• Arrest memo and the first remand order, with the date
• Every later remand order and order sheet of the magistrate's court
• Section 35 BNSS notice and proof of joining the investigation
• Anticipatory bail or regular bail orders
• Letters to the IO, SHO, ACP or DCP, with proof of delivery
• Any status report the police have given to a court
• Default bail application, signed and ready, in a custody case

Which court gets the chargesheet, and where the High Court fits

Delhi Police file the chargesheet in the court of the magistrate who has jurisdiction over the police station: for example, a Hauz Khas police station case goes to the magistrate at Saket, a Kalkaji case also to Saket, a Mayur Vihar case to Karkardooma, and a Dwarka Sector 23 case to Dwarka courts. Cases triable by a Court of Session, such as murder or rape, are then committed to the Sessions Court. The magistrate takes cognizance, issues summons or warrants, and under Section 230 BNSS (old Section 207 CrPC) supplies copies of the chargesheet and documents to the accused.

The Delhi High Court is not where chargesheets are filed, but it supervises the process. It hears bail applications after the Sessions Court refuses, petitions seeking time-bound investigation or transfer of investigation, challenges to orders refusing default bail, and quashing petitions. All of these cover every police station in Delhi, including the Crime Branch, EOW, Special Cell and cyber police stations.

If the FIR is in Noida, Gurugram or Ghaziabad, the chargesheet goes to the courts there and the High Court is the Allahabad or Punjab and Haryana High Court.

What to do this week

If someone is in custody, find the date of first remand, work out whether 60 or 90 days applies, and keep a default bail application signed and ready for the day after the deadline. When Advocate B.K. Singh reads a custody file, the first two things he checks are the date of first remand and whether the chargesheet has been filed; most of the bail strategy follows from those two facts.

If nobody is in custody and the case has gone quiet, get the order sheet or a written status from the IO. Advocate B.K. Singh's practical tip for people waiting on a stalled investigation is to keep a single page listing every date they joined the investigation and every document they gave the police, with copies; it is the quickest way to show a court that the delay is not yours. If you are the complainant, write to the IO and DCP, and then consider the magistrate or the High Court.

Our page on default bail in Delhi explains the High Court route if a timely claim is wrongly refused. For advice on your case papers or updates on the law, you can contact Advocate B.K. Singh.