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.
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By then, most people have already made two or three calls to the police station, and said something on the phone that they would not have said in a lawyer's office. That is the part that worries me most when a file reaches me late.
What the Notice Actually Is
A written notice requiring your appearance is issued under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — the provision that replaces the old Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The scheme is short. Where the officer is investigating a cognizable offence and does not think an immediate arrest is necessary, he must issue a written notice instead, stating a time and place for you to attend. You are then bound to comply.
The consequences of not complying are real. If you ignore the notice without a reasonable excuse, the officer is entitled to treat that as grounds to arrest you. That is the whole point of the provision: it is meant to spare you an arrest, not to give you a reason to disappear.
Two judicial decisions sit behind this and still govern how the police are expected to act. Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar held that for offences punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, arrest is not routine and the officer must first justify why a notice will not do. D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal laid down the basic safeguards around arrest itself — grounds communicated, memo of arrest, intimation to a friend or relative. These are the standards a court will measure the officer's conduct against if matters go wrong.
Do I Really Have to Go to the Police Station?
Yes, respond to the notice. But responding and explaining are two different things.
What you must do is present yourself at the stated time and place. What you are not obliged to do is give a narrated account of your involvement, sign anything, or answer questions designed to get you to agree with a version of events you have not seen. Article 20(3) of the Constitution protects you from being compelled to be a witness against yourself, and Article 22(1) gives you the right to know why you are being questioned and to consult a lawyer.
In practice, a large share of the trouble in these matters comes from one of two things: talking too much on the first day, or not turning up at all.
What to carry with you
- The original notice, and a photocopy of it.
- A government photo ID.
- Any document already in your possession that the notice refers to — bank statements, agreements, emails, receipts. Take copies, not originals, unless the officer specifically asks for originals.
- A note with the FIR number, the police station, the sections mentioned, and the name and designation of the officer who signed the notice.
- The phone number of your advocate, written down. Not only in your phone.
What to say, and what not to
You can confirm your name and address. You can say, politely and once, that you have come on the notice and that you wish to have your advocate present or to respond in writing. You do not have to speculate about anyone else's conduct, agree that a document is yours without reading it, or fill in gaps in the officer's timeline with guesses.
There is an old rule, now carried forward into the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, that a confession made to a police officer cannot be proved against the accused at trial. It would be a mistake to read that as blanket protection. Statements recorded during investigation are not a clean slate, and a carelessly worded reply can be used in ways the person did not anticipate.
If you are asked for fingerprints, handwriting samples, voice samples or similar material, note that these generally require an order from a Magistrate. Say that you will need to see the order before you cooperate. Do not refuse loudly. Ask for the order.
What If I Am Not Named in the FIR at All?
This happens more often than people expect. You learn of the case because your bank account was frozen, or because a supplier was questioned and your name came up, or because the notice simply arrives with no FIR attached. A Section 35 notice can, in a proper case, be issued to a person who is not yet an accused. That does not mean you will be made an accused later, and it does not mean you are in the clear. It means the officer wants to examine you, and the law allows him to ask.
It is worth asking, in writing, for a copy of the FIR and for the specific role the officer believes you played. Sometimes the answer narrows the matter considerably. Sometimes it does not come at all.
When the Matter Becomes an Arrest
If the investigation is serious, or if the officer believes you will not cooperate, a notice is skipped and an arrest follows. At that stage the practical question is bail, and it splits into two parts.
- Bail before arrest. If you have reason to believe you will be arrested, you can apply to the Sessions Court or the High Court under Section 482 of the BNSS. The courts have long held that the power is not to be read narrowly — Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab is the leading authority — and that an order need not be limited to a fixed number of days as a matter of course.
- Bail after arrest. This is an application under Section 483 of the BNSS, usually to the Magistrate's court first, and then upwards if refused.
How Long the Investigation Can Run
This is the part people underrate. Under Section 187 of the BNSS, once a person is in custody, the investigation has to be completed within sixty days for most offences, or ninety days where the offence is punishable with death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of not less than ten years. If no chargesheet is filed by then, the accused becomes entitled to what is called default bail — a right, not a discretion. Magistrates grant it because the statute leaves them no choice.
Chargesheet filed does not mean trial begins. There is usually a gap while the court takes cognizance, issues summons, and the accused appears. From there it is either a discharge application or framing of charge, and then evidence. For a contested case with witnesses, the trial itself can take years, and appeals more. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Where There May Be Nothing to Argue
Not every notice is a defence brief waiting to be written. Where the transaction is documented, where the money trail is clear, or where the client's own correspondence contradicts his account, the honest advice is that the room for argument is narrow and the aim should be to limit consequences rather than to contest everything. I have told clients that. It is a better use of their money than a series of applications that go nowhere.
The other side of the same coin: sometimes the notice is a fishing expedition, the FIR names no specific act, and a well-drafted reply to the officer ends the matter in a fortnight. You cannot tell which case you have from the notice alone. You can tell within a week of reading the FIR and the complaint.
How Long This Takes, and What the First Week Looks Like
Realistically: a reply or appearance within the time stated in the notice, usually seven to fifteen days. A written request for the FIR and documents, same week. If bail is needed before arrest, an application can be drafted in a day and heard within a week or so depending on the court's board. If you are arrested, the first 24 hours are the whole game — production before a Magistrate, and the bail application that follows.
What to bring me, if you want an answer rather than a general chat: the notice itself, the FIR if you have a copy, the complaint or the transaction documents the police are likely looking at, and a two-line note in your own words on what you think this is about. Not a defence. Just the facts as you know them. The version you write down before anyone has questioned you is usually the most useful document in the file.
The first 72 hours, in order
- Do not reply on the phone. Confirm receipt of the notice, ask for the date and time in writing, and stop there.
- Photograph the notice and send it across the same day. The date on it sets every deadline that follows.
- Ask for the FIR and the documents in a written request to the investigating officer, and keep proof of delivery.
- Decide on appearance. Either go with an advocate, or seek an adjournment in writing with reasons. Absence without explanation is the one step that is hard to undo.
- Do not contact the complainant. However innocent the intention, it will be read as pressure, and it hands the other side a fresh allegation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send a written reply instead of appearing in person?
Sometimes. It depends on the wording of the notice and on what the officer wants — a statement, a document, or an identification. A written reply is often the safer course where the questions are about documents. Where the officer has specifically sought your appearance, treating a written reply as a substitute without any communication is risky. Ask first, in writing, and get the answer in writing.
What happens if I genuinely cannot reach the police station on that date?
Send a written request for another date before the date fixed, with a reason and a proposed alternative. Keep the acknowledgement. Courts look at whether the conduct was cooperative or evasive, and an application made in advance reads very differently from silence followed by an explanation later.
Should I take my own lawyer to the police station?
You are entitled to have an advocate present during questioning. Whether it helps on a given day depends on the officer and the nature of the enquiry. It rarely harms. What does harm is going alone and answering questions for two hours because it felt rude to stop.
Will this notice show up on a police verification later?
A notice by itself is not a criminal record. A charge sheet and a conviction are what create one. Where a verification is pending, it is better to disclose the pendency than to leave it out and be found to have concealed it.
Can I be arrested even after I have complied with the notice?
Yes, if material emerges during the investigation that the officer believes justifies it. Compliance with a notice is not immunity. It is, however, a fact your advocate will place before the court at the bail stage, and it usually counts in your favour.
Speaking to a Lawyer
If a notice has reached you, the useful thing is to have it read by someone before you respond, not after. Most of the damage in these matters is done in the first conversation at the station, and it cannot be undone later.
Send the notice to /contact-us or book a slot at /book. Bring or attach: the notice, its date, a copy of the FIR if you have one, and two lines on what you understand the dispute to be. If you do not have the FIR, say so — that itself tells us something about the stage of the case. If, on reading the papers, there is nothing to argue, you will be told that plainly.
This article is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your situation. It is not a substitute for a lawyer reading your papers.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal lawyer in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.