Police cannot independently keep a person in investigative custody for an unlimited period. Under section 14, continued custody beyond the initial 24 hours requires an application through the government attorney's office and authorization from the authority hearing the case.
For the ordinary framework in section 14(6), custody can be authorized in one or more periods up to a total of 25 days. Section 14(8) provides a possible additional period of up to 15 days for specified serious offences where its special requirements are met. Special statutes can contain different rules.