Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Section 479
Section 479, plainly.
The half line
Someone held in custody during investigation, inquiry or trial, for an offence that is not punishable with death or life imprisonment, who has been detained for up to one-half of the maximum term of imprisonment for that offence, shall be released by the court on bail. The court may, after hearing the prosecutor and for reasons in writing, order continued detention.
No one can be held during investigation, inquiry or trial for longer than the maximum term itself.
Days of delay caused by the accused are not counted.
One-third for first-time offenders
If the person has never been convicted of any offence before, the line is one-third of the maximum term, and the court shall release them on bond.
When the papers don't say whether the person is a first-time offender, HalfTime uses the half line (the safe one) and shows the one-third date as “if first-time is confirmed”.
Who is outside it
Any offence that can be punished with death or imprisonment for life. One such charge takes the whole case outside Section 479.
The jail's duty: Section 479(3)
The Superintendent of jail, where the accused person is detained, on completion of one-half or one-third of the period mentioned in sub-section (1), as the case may be, shall forthwith make an application in writing to the Court to proceed under sub-section (1) for the release of such person on bail.
That is why HalfTime never says “eligible” on its own. It says past the line: the jail must apply, and drafts that application for a legal-aid lawyer to check and sign.
The 479(2) question
Section 479(2) says that where an investigation, inquiry or trial in more than one offence or in multiple cases is pending, the person shall not be released on bail by the court under sub-section (1). How wide that bar is, is contested:
Wide reading
Sub-sections (1) and (2) are read together. Where more than one case is registered, or the offences are different, the person cannot claim release under Section 479, including the one-third benefit.
Karnataka High Court, K. Ramakrishna v. Assistant Director, Directorate of EnforcementNarrow reading
Treating every multi-section charge sheet as “more than one offence” would swallow the rule, since most charge sheets list several sections for one act. The bar should reach separate offences and separate cases, not every section in one FIR.
Commentary arguing for a narrower bar (LiveLaw; IJLMH)HalfTime takes no side. Any case past the line with more than one charged offence, or with other cases pending or not ruled out by the papers, goes to Past the line · flagged, so a lawyer decides before anything is filed.
Cases registered before 1 July 2024
The old law, Section 436A of the CrPC, set only the half line, with no one-third benefit. By its order of 23 August 2024, the Supreme Court directed that Section 479 applies to undertrials in cases registered before the BNSS came into force too. HalfTime applies Section 479 and shows the old 436A date alongside for those cases. Report of the order
How HalfTime applies it
- Every charged section is looked up in tables built from the bare acts (IPC, BNS and common special acts), each row citing its source.
- Any life or death offence: outside 479. A section whose maximum can't be known from the papers: can't tell.
- The longest maximum among the charges sets the line. Half, or one-third if the papers say first-time; calendar-exact, rounding later, never earlier.
- Accused delay entered by a person pushes the line back.
- Past the line with one offence and no other cases: the jail must apply. Otherwise: flagged for a lawyer.
Source text: Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Section 479 (bare act). This page is a plain summary, not legal advice.