One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
Because of that, I am not going to walk through my client's matter step by step. What follows is the general position for anyone who has received a written police notice asking them to appear at a station. The facts of that particular case stay in the file.
What should you do if you receive a police notice?
Read it twice, note the date and the police station, and do not miss that date. Everything else can wait a day; that date cannot.
The first thing to understand is that a notice asking you to appear is not an arrest, not an FIR by itself, and not a charge sheet. It is a written request from an investigating officer, issued under Section 35 of the BNSS — the provision that replaced Section 41A of the old CrPC — telling you to present yourself for questioning. Officers issue it precisely when they do not intend to arrest you at that stage.
The second thing is that it is not optional. Non-compliance is treated as a ground for arrest. People sometimes assume that if they simply do not respond, the matter will fade. It does not. It escalates.
Notice versus court summons — these are different things
A notice comes from a police officer during investigation. A summons comes from a court in a case already before it. Both require a response. If what you have received is a court summons, you or your advocate must appear before that court on the listed date unless an exemption has been applied for and granted. If it is a police notice, you attend at the police station.
Check the letterhead carefully. In cyber crime matters particularly, people receive WhatsApp messages or emails claiming to be from a police station. Before you respond to anything, call the police station on a number listed on the official state police website and confirm that the officer named in the notice exists and did send it.
Key facts at a glance
- A written police notice asking you to appear is not an arrest, and it is not a charge sheet.
- Ignoring it can lead to arrest, because non-compliance is itself a ground.
- You may attend with an advocate. Whether the officer allows the advocate inside the room during questioning is a different question, and practice varies.
- Article 20(3) of the Constitution protects you from being compelled to be a witness against yourself.
- A statement recorded by the police during investigation is not meant to be signed by you.
- Hand over copies, not originals, and keep a receipt or an acknowledgement for anything you give.
- Anticipatory bail, if it is needed, is filed before the Sessions Court or the High Court — the provision in the BNSS that replaced Section 438 CrPC.
What to carry with you
- The notice itself, in original.
- Photo identification.
- Any document that relates to the complaint — a bank statement, an invoice, a chat record, a contract. Take copies, keep the originals with you if the officer only needs to see them.
- A note in your own handwriting of what happened, written before you go in. Memory under questioning is unreliable, and having your own chronology on paper helps your advocate later.
- Your advocate's phone number, on paper as well as in your phone.
What not to do
- Do not sign anything you have not read, and do not sign a blank or partly blank page. This one sentence prevents more trouble than any other in this article.
- Do not unlock and hand over your phone unless your advocate has advised it and the procedure is documented.
- Do not delete messages, emails or call logs, even the ones that look bad. Deletion in an investigation is treated far more seriously than the content.
- Do not contact the complainant or any witness to "sort it out". That can be read as influencing a witness.
- Do not assume the officer already knows the full story. Assume the opposite.
When arrest is a genuine possibility
If the offence alleged is serious, or if a co-accused has already been arrested, the risk goes up. In that situation, the application for anticipatory bail should be prepared before you respond to the notice, not after. Timing matters: if you are arrested first, the remedy changes from anticipatory bail to a regular bail application, which is usually a slower road.
On arrest itself, the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, (1997) 1 SCC 416, still govern how a person in custody is to be treated, including the right to have someone informed and to meet a lawyer. Those are real rights, not courtesies.
If the case involves bank accounts, phones or a laptop
Cyber crime and financial fraud investigations run almost entirely on electronic records. Under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — the provision that replaced Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act — electronic records need a specific certificate from the person in charge of the device or system before they can be used in court. That requirement is technical, and it is sometimes the difference between a document being admitted and being thrown out.
What that means for you practically: preserve everything, change nothing, and let your advocate argue the technical points when the charge sheet is filed.
How long will this take?
Longer than you want. An investigation can run for weeks or months, and it can end in one of several ways — no case at all, a closure report, or a charge sheet. There is no fixed timeline, and no one can honestly give you a date. What you can control is the quality of the record you create at each stage.
When there may be nothing to argue
I would rather say this plainly than have someone spend money out of hope. If the record shows that you received money that traces directly to a fraud, and there is no explanation for it, then the defence is not "I did nothing". It is about knowledge and intent — whether you knew, and whether you meant to. That is a narrower argument, and it needs documents, not denials. In some matters, the realistic aim is a clean bail and a fair trial, not the case vanishing.
What to send us
Send the notice itself, the date on it and the police station named, plus a two-line note on what the complaint appears to be about. If there is an FIR number, include it. If you have received anything from a bank or a payment platform, attach that too. You can write through our contact page or book a consultation. If the appearance date is within the next week, say so in the first line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my advocate go instead of me?
An advocate can accompany you and will usually be permitted to be present at the station. Whether the officer allows the advocate into the questioning room is a matter of practice that varies between stations and officers. The safer course is to attend in person, with counsel. Sending someone in your place and not appearing yourself is not advisable.
The notice came on WhatsApp or by email. Is that valid?
Investigators do use email and messaging to communicate. But impersonation of police is common in cyber fraud cases, so verify first: call the police station on a number from the official state police website and confirm the officer's name and designation. Do not send documents or money to a number you cannot verify.
Will appearing at the police station create a criminal record?
No. A notice and an appearance by themselves are not a criminal record. If a case is registered against you and remains pending, that fact can surface in a police verification for a passport or a job. A conviction is a different and more serious matter. This is one reason it matters whether the matter ends in a closure report or in a charge sheet.
I live in another state. Do I still have to travel?
Generally, yes, if the officer insists. You can request, in writing, that your statement be recorded where you live. Officers sometimes agree when the request is made through an advocate and the cooperation is obvious. If what you have received is a court summons rather than a police notice, you must appear before that court unless an exemption is applied for and granted.
Can the police keep calling me again and again?
Multiple notices without a reason are not unlimited. If you are being called repeatedly with no progress in the investigation, that pattern can be placed before the High Court. Keep every notice you receive, with its date, because that record is what makes such a petition possible.
This article is general information about Indian law and procedure. It is not legal advice on your own situation, and reading it does not create an advocate–client relationship.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India