That a co-accused similarly placed on the allegation has been enlarged on bail, and the applicant's role is the same or lesser. The comparison has to be made on the material, role by role, not by name.
Almost every bail format circulating as a PDF still cites the CrPC. For an offence registered after 1 July 2024 that is the wrong number. Here is the structure of the application, the grounds that appear in it, and both numberings side by side.
A bail application carries a cause title, the FIR and offence particulars, the applicant's custody position, the grounds relied on, the prayer, and a verification. Since 1 July 2024 the provisions are numbered under the BNSS rather than the CrPC, so the same application now cites a different section depending on the date of the offence.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The bail provisions were not abolished — they were renumbered.
| What the application seeks | CrPC, 1973 | BNSS, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Bail in a bailable offence | Section 436 | Section 478 |
| Bail in a non-bailable offence, before a Magistrate | Section 437 | Section 480 |
| Anticipatory bail — direction for release in the event of arrest | Section 438 | Section 482 |
| Special powers of the High Court or Court of Session as to bail | Section 439 | Section 483 |
| Release of an undertrial who has undergone the maximum period of detention | Section 436A | Section 479 |
| Default bail where the investigation is not completed within the prescribed period | Section 167(2) | Section 187 |
Which one you cite depends on the date, not on your preference. The Sanhita carries a repeal and savings provision that preserves things done and proceedings pending under the old Code, so a matter that began before the commencement generally continues under the CrPC while a matter registered after it runs under the BNSS. Where the position is contested — and it has been, in several High Courts — the safe drafting habit is to cite the provision you rely on and note its counterpart in brackets.
Always verify a section number against the bare act before you sign. The table above lists only the mappings that are settled and widely used; it is not a complete concordance. To carry the offence description across as well, use the IPC to BNS section mapping, and check any judgment you cite on the old provision with the good-law check before it goes into the grounds.
What each part contains, and what a court looks for in it. Court rules differ, so treat this as the structure rather than as a form.
| Part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Cause title | The court, the description of the proceeding — bail application, case number and year where allotted — and the applicant and the State as they appear on the record, with the police station named. |
| Particulars of the FIR | FIR number and year, police station, district, date of registration, and the offences alleged with the sections and the code they are under. This is the paragraph the renumbering affects. |
| Arrest and custody position | For regular bail: the date of arrest, whether the applicant is in judicial or police custody, and since when. For anticipatory bail: the facts on which arrest is apprehended, and that the offence alleged is non-bailable. |
| Brief facts | The prosecution case as it stands, stated shortly and fairly, in numbered paragraphs and in date order. A bail application that misstates the allegation loses its credit on the first reading. |
| Grounds | The propositions relied on, lettered or numbered, each self-contained and separated from the facts. Categories that appear in practice are set out in the next section. |
| Earlier applications | A specific statement of whether any earlier bail application has been made in the same matter, before which court, and with what result. Many courts require this as a separate declaration. |
| Prayer | Exactly what is asked: release on bail on such terms as the court thinks fit, or a direction that in the event of arrest the applicant be released on bail. Any interim prayer is stated separately. |
| Undertaking as to conditions | The willingness commonly recorded — to furnish surety, to appear on every date, to cooperate with the investigation, not to leave the jurisdiction without leave, not to influence a witness or tamper with evidence. |
| Verification | The signed statement of which paragraphs are true to knowledge and which to information believed to be true, in the form the court's rules prescribe. |
| Affidavit and annexures | The supporting affidavit where required, and an index of annexures whose marks match every reference in the body. |
| Advocate's particulars | Signature, enrolment number and address for service, filed with the vakalatnama that puts the advocate on record. |
This is a description of how the document is put together. It is not a form to copy and it is not legal advice — a qualified advocate must settle and sign the application against the facts of the matter and the rules of the court it is filed in. To produce an actual draft with your particulars in it, use Lawgger drafting.
Set out below are the heads under which grounds are commonly pleaded in Indian practice. This is a description of what appears in applications — not a prediction that any of it will succeed, and not advice on any matter.
That a co-accused similarly placed on the allegation has been enlarged on bail, and the applicant's role is the same or lesser. The comparison has to be made on the material, role by role, not by name.
The length of custody already undergone, set against the punishment the offence carries and the stage the case has reached.
That the trial has not begun or is not likely to conclude within a reasonable time, with the dates showing where the matter has stalled and why the applicant is not responsible for it.
The character of the accusation as it emerges from the record — whether it is documentary, whether the material is already seized, whether the dispute is essentially civil in colour.
That the investigation is complete or the charge-sheet filed, and that no custodial interrogation remains to be done; or, in anticipatory bail, that custodial interrogation is not required.
That the applicant has joined the investigation when called, produced what was sought, and has not evaded process.
That the applicant is not placed to influence witnesses or interfere with evidence, with the reasons — the witnesses are official, the record is seized, the applicant has no position of control.
Residence, family, occupation and standing, going to the likelihood of the applicant being available to face trial.
Medical condition, supported by records, and the treatment the applicant is undergoing or requires. Pleaded with documents rather than assertions.
Every one of these heads is a proposition that needs an authority behind it when it is argued, and Indian bail jurisprudence turns on the facts of the case relied on. Research the head, take the judgment that fits your facts, and check that it is still good law — see legal research pin-cited to the page and good-law checking. Terms used above are defined in the glossary.
What must be annexed is fixed by the rules of the court you are filing in, and by what your grounds actually rely on. In practice the following are the documents most often filed with a bail application:
A bail application before a Magistrate, before a Court of Session and before a High Court are the same document in substance and different documents on the counter. Higher courts generally expect a paper book — a synopsis, a list of dates, indexed and paginated annexures, and a set number of copies. Some courts require the order impugned to be filed in a particular form; some require a specific declaration about earlier applications; some require a certified copy and some accept a downloaded one.
We do not publish per-court checklists here, because getting one of them wrong would cost you a date. Read the rules and the filing practice of the court in question, and if you are appearing there for the first time, ask the filing counter before you assemble the paper book. Court-wise pages for the Supreme Court and all 25 High Courts set out what Lawgger shows for each.
The structure above is the knowledge. This is the labour it removes.
Pick the application you are making — bailable offence, non-bailable before a Magistrate, anticipatory, or before the High Court or Court of Session — and the correct section numbering follows from the date of the offence.
FIR number and police station, the sections alleged, the court, the custody position, the dates. Fields you leave empty are marked as gaps rather than filled with invented particulars.
Cause title, FIR particulars, brief facts, grounds and prayer, already carrying what you entered — in English or in any of ten Indian languages.
Rewrite the grounds for your facts. Authorities added are pin-cited to the page of the judgment and carry a still-good-law or overruled verdict, so nothing dead walks into the application.
OCR the scanned FIR and orders, place the stamps, compress the paper book to the filing size limit, and keep the executed copy in the private chamber vault with the matter.
After filing, the matter can be followed by CNR so the next date and the order digest come to you in plain words rather than as a screenshot from the clerk — see case tracking and case status by CNR. Any date the order sets that starts a clock can go into the limitation calculator, which rolls past weekends, holidays and court vacations.
A bail application carries a cause title naming the court and the case, the particulars of the FIR and the offences alleged, the applicant's arrest and custody position, the brief facts, the grounds relied on, a disclosure of any earlier bail application, the prayer, a verification, and an affidavit and annexures where the court's rules require them. It ends with the advocate's particulars and is filed with a vakalatnama.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita came into force on 1 July 2024 and renumbered the bail provisions: section 437 CrPC became section 480 BNSS, section 438 became section 482, and section 439 became section 483. The Sanhita carries a repeal and savings provision that preserves proceedings already pending under the CrPC, so the correct citation depends on the date the matter began. Verify against the bare act.
An application for regular bail is made by a person already arrested or in custody, and asks to be released. An application for anticipatory bail is made by a person who apprehends arrest in a non-bailable offence, and asks for a direction that in the event of arrest they be released on bail. The facts pleaded differ accordingly: one sets out custody, the other sets out the apprehension.
Commonly a copy of the FIR, the arrest memo or custody particulars, the charge-sheet or the relevant portions where it has been filed, the order of the court below with the earlier application where the matter comes up in a higher court, medical records where health is pleaded, and the vakalatnama and affidavit. What is compulsory is set by the rules of the court you are filing in.
Indian practice expects a bail application to state whether any earlier application has been made in the same matter, before which court, and with what result — allowed, rejected, withdrawn or pending. Many courts require this as a specific paragraph or a separate declaration. Suppressing it is treated seriously, and it is one of the first things a court checks.
The substance is the same; the form is not. High Court practice usually requires a paper book with a synopsis and list of dates, a fixed number of copies, indexed and marked annexures, and the order of the court below. District and sessions practice is lighter. The filing rules of the particular court govern, and they should be checked before the paper book is assembled.
Yes. In Lawgger a draft is produced from the format with the matter's particulars already in it and can be exported as a Word file or a PDF. The doc tools convert between the two, run OCR on scanned annexures, place stamps and compress an oversized paper book for e-filing. What you take out is a draft to settle, not a blank form to retype.
Lawgger drafts in ten Indian languages, Hindi among them, so the same format can be produced in the language the court works in. Which language a court accepts is governed by the rules of that state and that court, and in several states the district courts work in the regional language while the High Court works in English. Check the rule before filing.
A note on what this page is. This is a drafting format published for advocates. It is not legal advice, it is not an opinion on any matter, and reading it creates no advocate-client relationship. A qualified advocate must settle and sign any bail application before it is filed. Lawgger is a software company and not a law firm.
Criminal formats that know which code applies, grounds settled against authorities that are still good law, and annexures assembled without a night of scanning. Fourteen days free, no card.