How-to basket order Kite Zerodha partial execution order rejection leg risk

How to fix a basket that partially executed on Kite

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 21 June 2026. Reading time ~9 min. Level: Intermediate.

Key facts

Why it happens	A basket is not atomic; Kite sends legs in sequence and each can reject for margin, price band, liquidity, or freeze quantity while others fill
First action	Open the basket or the order book and read the status and reject reason of every leg
The risk	A hedged structure with one filled and one rejected leg leaves a naked, unintended position carrying full margin and directional risk
The fix	Clear the reject cause, then re-place the failed legs from the basket order window or as fresh orders
If you cannot complete	Exit the legs that did fill to avoid carrying an unbalanced position you did not intend

Procedure

Read the status of every legOpen the basket or the Kite order book. Note which legs are complete or open and which were rejected, and read the exact reject reason on each failed leg.
Identify the cause of each rejectionMatch the reject reason to its cause: insufficient margin, a price band or circuit limit breach, a limit far from the last traded price, low liquidity, or a freeze-quantity cap on a single order.
Clear the causeAdd funds for a margin reject, move a limit inside the price band, split a quantity above the freeze limit, or wait for liquidity. Fix the specific reason before retrying.
Re-place the failed legsFrom the basket order window, modify and execute the rejected legs, or place them as fresh orders. Re-send only the failed legs, not the whole basket, so the filled legs are not duplicated.
Confirm the structure is completeCheck the order book and positions. Verify every intended leg is now filled and the net position matches the strategy.
If you cannot complete it, unwindIf a critical leg cannot be placed, exit the legs that did fill to avoid carrying a naked or unbalanced position you did not intend.

A basket order on Kite is not an atomic transaction, so a basket can partially execute: some legs fill while others reject for margin, a price band breach, low liquidity, or a freeze-quantity cap. Kite sends each leg to the exchange in sequence, and the exchange accepts or rejects each one on its own merits. When a leg rejects, the rest of the basket still goes through, which can leave you holding part of a structure you meant to enter whole. The fix is to identify the failed legs, clear the specific reason each one rejected, and re-place only those legs.

This guide is for traders who clicked execute on a basket and saw a mix of green ticks and red crosses, especially on a hedged or paired structure where a missing leg turns a defined-risk position into a naked one. It covers why baskets partly fill, how to read the reject reasons, how to fix each cause and re-send the failed legs, and when to unwind the legs that did fill rather than chase the rest.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes and is written independently. WebNotes operates a Zerodha account-opening referral programme, disclosed on the pages that carry the referral link; this guide does not carry it and earns no referral commission from the procedure described here.

Why a basket partly fills

A basket is a convenience layer over individual orders, not a single combined order. When you execute, Kite places the orders in the same sequence as in the basket, one after another. Each order is routed to the exchange independently and judged on its own. There is no all-or-nothing guarantee: if leg three rejects, legs one, two, four, and five still go to the exchange. Zerodha states the point directly, that you must confirm the status of all individual orders within the basket or on the order book to verify whether each was placed, executed, or rejected.

The legs that reject do so for the ordinary reasons any Kite order rejects. The common causes in a basket are these.

Insufficient margin. The basket’s required margin is checked at execution, not at creation. A market move or a margin-parameter change since you built the basket can leave a shortfall, and the legs that tip you over the available balance reject for margin . In an F&O basket, leg order matters: if a naked short leg is sent before its protective long leg, the short is margined as uncovered and can reject even though the completed spread would have fit. See required margin versus final margin for why sequence changes the running requirement.

Price band or circuit limit. A leg priced outside the day’s circuit band , or a stock that has hit its upper or lower circuit, rejects on a price-band breach while other legs in liquid names go through.

Liquidity and limit distance. A limit order resting far from the last traded price may not fill, and an illiquid contract may show no opposite quote to match. The leg sits open or rejects depending on the cause, while liquid legs complete.

Freeze quantity. A single order above the exchange freeze-quantity limit rejects. Zerodha notes that when orders exceed the maximum per-order limits, the duplicate-order function inside the basket helps split the quantity across several smaller orders.

Step-by-step fix

The procedure infobox above sets out the sequence. The detail below covers reading the reject reasons and re-placing only the failed legs.

1. Read the status of every leg

Open the basket, or open the Kite order book, and go leg by leg. A completed leg shows as filled; an open leg is working; a rejected leg shows a red status with a reason. Note exactly which legs failed and copy the reject message on each. Do not act on the first impression that the basket “mostly went through”: on a hedged structure, the single missing leg is the one that matters.

2. Identify the cause of each rejection

Map each reject message to its cause. A margin message means a funds shortfall on that leg. A price-band or circuit message means the leg’s price was outside the permitted range. A message about the limit being far from the last traded price points to the limit distance. A freeze-quantity message means the single order exceeded the per-order cap. Diagnosing the exact cause is the step that decides what you change before retrying; re-sending an unchanged leg simply rejects again. The hub why orders are rejected on Kite enumerates the full set of reject reasons and their fixes.

3. Clear the cause

Fix the specific reason for each failed leg. For a margin reject, add funds, or in an F&O basket reorder so the buy options lead and the running required margin drops. For a price-band reject, move the limit inside the band, or wait for the circuit to ease. For a freeze-quantity reject, split the quantity into orders below the freeze limit, using the basket’s duplicate-order function. For a limit far from the last traded price, move the limit closer or switch the leg to a market order if your strategy can take the fill.

4. Re-place the failed legs

Re-send only the legs that failed. Zerodha’s guidance is that rejected orders can be modified and executed manually from the order window of the basket. Re-placing the whole basket would duplicate the legs that already filled, doubling those positions. Either modify and execute the rejected legs from within the basket, or place them as fresh standalone orders. On a time-sensitive structure, a market order on the missing leg may be the safer choice than chasing a limit, since every minute the structure stays incomplete is a minute of unintended exposure.

5. Confirm the structure is complete

Check the order book and the positions view. Confirm every intended leg is now filled and the net position matches the strategy you meant to put on. For a spread, both legs should be present in the right direction and quantity; for a rebalance, every buy and sell should be complete. Only then is the basket truly executed.

6. If you cannot complete it, unwind

Sometimes the missing leg cannot be placed at all: the stock is locked at a circuit and not trading, or the contract has no liquidity. If a critical leg cannot go on, the safer course is to exit the legs that did fill rather than carry a half-built structure. A bull call spread with the long call filled and the short call rejected is a naked long call, with different risk and a higher margin than you planned. If you cannot complete the hedge, close the open leg and reassess, rather than leave an exposure you did not intend.

The leg-risk problem on hedged baskets

The reason partial execution is more than a nuisance is leg risk. On a paired or multi-leg structure, the legs offset each other, and the margin and the directional risk both depend on all legs being present. A four-leg condor with three legs filled is not three-quarters of a condor; it is a different position with its own profile. The required margin you saw assumed the hedge; with a leg missing, the exchange margins what you actually hold, which can be far larger. So a partial fill can both change your risk and spike your margin at the same time, which is why catching it fast and either completing or unwinding the structure is the priority, not an afterthought.

What can go wrong

Treating a partial fill as a clean fill. A basket that “mostly executed” can leave the one leg that defined the hedge unfilled. Always read every leg’s status, not the aggregate impression.
Re-placing the whole basket. Re-sending the entire basket duplicates the legs that already filled. Re-place only the rejected legs.
Re-sending an unchanged leg. A leg that rejected for a price band or margin will reject again unchanged. Fix the specific cause first.
Carrying a naked leg. A hedged structure with a missing leg is a naked, higher-margin position. If you cannot complete the hedge, exit the filled leg.
Missing a freeze-quantity split. A single order above the freeze limit keeps rejecting. Split it with the basket’s duplicate-order function into orders under the cap.
Ignoring the margin spike. A partial fill can raise the margin held, because the hedge benefit is gone. Watch the funds page after a partial execution.

External references

References

Zerodha support, How to place basket orders on Kite? (legs placed in sequence; verify each in the basket or order book; rejected orders modified and executed from the basket order window; duplicate function for per-order limits; as of 21 June 2026).
Zerodha support, What is the required and the final margin in a basket order? (sequence affects required margin; buy options first; as of 21 June 2026).
NSE circulars on price bands, circuit filters, and freeze quantities in the cash and derivatives segments.
SEBI circulars on margin collection and order entry practices.

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Last reviewed: 21 June 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.