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.
TL;DR: A threat to file a police complaint is not the same as a case being registered. Fault in a road accident is decided by evidence, not by who shouts first. Preserve your dashcam footage, do not admit fault in writing, and get a legal opinion before you sign anything at the police station.
Arjun Mehta was riding home from work in Pune when his phone buzzed. A Teams message, nothing urgent. It was around 6.40 pm on 18 March 2025, on the crowded stretch near Baner, and he put on his indicators and started drifting left.
There was an auto-rickshaw on his left. A woman on a Honda Activa was behind him. A Hyundai i20 was trailing further back. The scooter rider slipped into the gap between his bike and the auto. Mehta swerved right so he would not clip her. The i20, which had not left itself enough room, hit the rear right side of his bike. The right foot peg snapped clean off.
The car's driver, Suresh Kulkarni, got out and said he would file a police complaint. Mehta refused to accept fault. He had a dashcam running. What he did not have was any idea what happens next.
A round of local advice told him to pay quietly and move on. He approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao instead. The office wrote to the police station, secured the footage, and prepared a written account of the lane positions at the moment of impact. No case was registered against him. The familiarity with how accident complaints are actually processed, and with the rules on electronic evidence, is what kept a routine collision from turning into a criminal file.
Key Facts of the Case
- The rider was on a two-wheeler, moving left after indicating, with an auto-rickshaw to his left.
- A scooter rider entered the gap between the bike and the auto, forcing an evasive swerve to the right.
- The car behind struck the rear right side of the bike; the damage was to the foot peg, not to any person.
- The car driver threatened a police complaint but had not filed one at the time the client sought advice.
- There was dashcam footage from the client's own vehicle.
- No injury was reported to anyone involved.
- The client did not admit fault at the spot or in writing.
The Direct Legal Answer
Can the car owner file a police complaint after the bike accident?
Yes, anyone can walk into a police station and give information. Whether an FIR is actually registered is a different question. Section 173 BNSS requires the police to register an FIR for a cognizable offence, and the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v. Government of UP, 2014 held that registration is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence. A collision with no injury and minor property damage often does not cross that line on its own.
Am I liable just because the car hit my rear?
Not automatically. There is no rule that the vehicle behind is always at fault. Liability turns on the driving of both parties, the road position, the indication given, and the reaction time available. Rear-end impact raises a presumption worth explaining, but it can be answered with footage and a clear account.
Should I file a complaint first?
Not as a reflex. Filing information about your own damage and injury is your right, and sometimes necessary for an insurance or compensation claim. But a complaint filed in anger, without footage, can end up confirming the other side's version.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Do not give a written statement or sign a memo at the police station on the same evening. You are entitled to go back with your documents and a lawyer's input.
Preserve the vehicle in the same condition if you can, including the broken part. Photographs taken the next morning are worth far less than photographs taken at the spot.
Matters like this involve procedural and evidentiary nuances that a general practitioner may not handle regularly, and engaging an advocate who deals with road accident and motor claims often produces a faster, cleaner result.
Applicable Sections of Law
- Section 281, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — rash driving or riding on a public way.
- Section 125, BNS — act endangering the life or personal safety of others, where a person is put at risk.
- Section 324, BNS — mischief, where property is damaged or destroyed.
- Section 134, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — duty of the driver to report an accident to the police and to give information.
- Section 166, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — application for compensation before the Claims Tribunal.
- Section 63, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — admissibility of electronic records, which covers dashcam footage.
Punishment and Penalties
Under Section 281 BNS, the maximum is imprisonment up to six months, or a fine up to one thousand rupees, or both. Section 125 BNS carries up to three months or a fine up to one thousand rupees where hurt is caused, and a lighter penalty where no hurt results. Section 324 BNS carries up to six months, or a fine, or both.
Sections 281 and 125 are cognizable and bailable. The mischief provision is generally non-cognizable and bailable. All are compoundable with the permission of the court, which is why most minor collision matters end in a compromise rather than a trial.
Jurisdiction — Where to File the Case
These offences carry a maximum of three years, so the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class is the trial court. The police station with territorial jurisdiction is the one whose limits cover the place where the collision happened, which is the ordinary rule under Section 173 BNSS.
For compensation, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act has jurisdiction over the district where the accident occurred, and in many cases where the claimant resides or works.
Jurisdiction matters because a complaint filed at the wrong station gets forwarded, and weeks are lost while vehicles are released, insurance is intimated, and memories fade.
What if Police Refuse to File FIR?
Refusal is common in minor collision matters, and it is not the end of the road.
- Send a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) BNSS, quoting the first complaint and its date.
- If that produces nothing, move an application before the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS asking for a direction to investigate.
- Approach the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution as a last resort, where the refusal is plainly unreasonable.
- Keep every acknowledgement slip and diary number. A refusal is much easier to prove with paper.
Rights of the Accused
- Right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3). You cannot be forced to be a witness against yourself.
- Right to counsel under Article 22(1). You may have a lawyer present during questioning.
- Right to be produced before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours of arrest under Article 22(2).
- Right to know the grounds of arrest and to a copy of the FIR, except where a court orders otherwise.
- Right to medical examination and to have the fact of arrest recorded.
Bail Provisions
Under Sections 281 and 125 BNS, bail is a matter of right once you appear or surrender. For a non-bailable mischief charge, the application goes before the Magistrate or the Sessions Court under the bail chapter of the BNSS.
If you have reason to believe a complaint is about to be filed, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS before the Sessions Court or the High Court is an option worth discussing with your advocate.
Typical conditions are that you will not tamper with evidence, will appear on every date, and will not contact the complainant directly. Bail strategy in accident matters rests largely on the footage, so the application is usually filed together with the electronic evidence and its certificate.
Quashing of FIR / Case
The High Court can quash an FIR or a criminal proceeding under Section 528 BNSS, which Section 528 BNSS mirrors the quashing power that used to sit in Section 482 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure. The High Court steps in where the complaint, taken at face value, does not make out an offence at all, where the real dispute is civil in character, or where letting the proceeding run would be an abuse of process. The guidelines in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal remain the working checklist.
In a collision matter, quashing is normally argued on the first ground. If the only allegation is that a vehicle touched another vehicle and a part broke, the ingredients of rashness — speed, disregard, a pattern of driving that a reasonable person would call dangerous — may simply not be pleaded. That gap is the argument.
Two practical points. First, quashing needs something to quash, so this remedy becomes relevant after an FIR or a charge-sheet exists, not while the other driver is still only threatening. Second, once the parties have settled and the damage is compensated, courts are generally willing to close the matter, and compounding under Section 359 BNSS is often the shorter route than a quashing petition.
Compensation and the Motor Claims Route
Two tracks run side by side in a road accident, and people confuse them constantly. The criminal track asks whether someone drove rashly. The compensation track asks who pays for the damage, regardless of criminal fault.
- An application under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act goes before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal for injury, damage to property and related loss.
- The statute now prescribes a six-month window from the date of the accident for filing, though tribunals have condoned delay where the reason is genuine and explained.
- Your own insurer may process the repair claim under the policy, but that does not decide who was at fault in the collision.
- If the third party's insurer is involved, the claim is usually pursued against the insurer, not the driver personally.
Here the injury was nil and the loss was a snapped foot peg. On those facts a Tribunal claim may not be worth the time it consumes, and the practical fight is really about who gets blamed. That is a judgement call, and it should be made with the footage in front of you, not on the kerb.
What to Preserve, and What to Send Us
The single most useful thing you can do in the first forty-eight hours is nothing dramatic. Do not wash the vehicle. Do not repair the broken part. Do not delete the dashcam card.
- The original memory card or file, untouched. Do not re-encode, trim or WhatsApp-compress it.
- A copy of the file along with the certificate required for electronic records under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- Photographs of both vehicles from several angles, including the road and the lane markings.
- Registration certificate, driving licence, insurance policy and, if a policy was issued recently, the receipt.
- Any complaint, acknowledgement slip, diary number or notice you have received from the other side or from the police.
- A repair estimate from a workshop, if repairs are needed.
Send a two-line note stating the date, the time, the place and the police station whose limits cover it, and confirm whether any FIR has actually been registered. That last point changes the advice completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the car owner file a police complaint after the bike accident, and will an FIR follow?
Anyone can give information at a police station. Whether an FIR is registered depends on whether the information discloses a cognizable offence with specific allegations of rash or negligent driving. Minor property damage with no injury often does not clear that bar, but that is a decision for the police in the first instance and the Magistrate if they refuse.
Is the vehicle behind always at fault in a rear-end collision?
No. Following too closely is a common cause and helps the front vehicle, but it is not a rule of law. Lane position, the signal given, the gap available and the evasive action taken all matter. Footage settles more of this than argument does.
I was not injured. Do I still need a lawyer?
You need advice, not necessarily litigation. The risk in a no-injury collision is not jail — it is a written statement you signed at the station at 9 pm, or an admission in a settlement note, that gets read back to you months later. An hour of advice before you sign anything is the cheap part.
Should I pay the other driver to close the matter?
Only after you know what the evidence shows and whether a complaint has been filed. Paying quietly and paying with a signed admission are two different acts. If you do settle, put the terms in writing, get the other side's no-objection recorded, and keep the receipt.
Does the dashcam footage need anything special to be used?
Yes. Electronic records are dealt with under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the certificate requirements are specific. A clip forwarded through a messaging app, with the metadata stripped, is far weaker than the original file. Preserve the original.
How long does all this take?
If no FIR is registered, the advisory stage and the correspondence with the police station is usually a matter of days to a few weeks. If an FIR is registered, expect months. If a charge-sheet follows, longer, though most minor collision prosecutions end in compounding well before trial.
Next Step
If a complaint has been threatened or filed against you, do not draft a reply on your own. Send us the complaint or notice, its date, the police station, and the dashcam file or a description of what the footage shows. Two lines is enough to start.
You can write to me@sudhirrao.com or call +91 97295 06771. The chamber is at Lawyers' Chamber, Chamber No. 86, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi 110001. For matrimonial or family matters arising out of a road accident or its aftermath, Adv. Jyoti Rao, Bar Council of Delhi D/891/2023, handles that work. You can also use the contact page or book a consultation slot.
On the facts described above, there was a defensible position and it held. On other facts, where a rider was speeding, or the footage is missing, or an injury occurred, there may be very little to argue and the honest advice will be to settle early. You will get that answer from us directly, whichever way it falls.
This article is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your own situation. Please consult an advocate with the papers in hand before acting.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal advocate 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.