Harassment Complaint or FIR: What to Do When the Police Call You
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 phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer is not the same as an FIR against you. A complaint may have been recorded informally, or nothing may have been registered at all. You are entitled to written details before you walk into a police station, you can take a criminal advocate with you, and a half-written apology letter that you never sent or filed is not by itself an admission of guilt.
The call came on a Tuesday morning from a number Aditya Kulkarni did not recognise. He let it ring out. By evening, his friend Nikhil had spoken to the same man, who said a complaint had been filed against both of them and that the matter should be sorted out before it became complicated.
Aditya is a student in Pune, in the middle of a postgraduate entrance year. He rang the officer back that night. The man was busy, asked him to call later, and never clearly said which police station he was from or what the complaint actually contained. He told Aditya to come in, and to bring Shreya, the woman he had been in a relationship with until it ended badly. Aditya said he was no longer in touch with her and would come alone.
Frightened, he drafted an apology letter that night. He never sent it to Shreya and never filed it anywhere. He also kept every chat, screenshot and call record instead of clearing his phone.
Earlier advice from a general practitioner had only added to the confusion. He then approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The Chamber's reading of the procedural position kept the matter from escalating into an arrest, and Advocate Sudhir Rao's familiarity with this category of matters helped secure the outcome the client needed.
Key Facts of the Case
- The client was contacted by telephone by a man who claimed police connections but never clearly identified his designation or police station.
- The same man called the client's friend and said a complaint had been filed against both of them.
- The client was asked to appear at a police station and to bring the woman involved, with whom he was no longer in contact.
- No written notice, complaint copy, or FIR number was ever furnished to the client.
- The client had drafted an apology letter while frightened, but never sent it to the complainant or filed it with any authority.
- All chats, call records and screenshots were preserved, unedited.
- The client is a student and was concerned about the effect on his education and career.
The Direct Legal Answer
Is a complaint the same as an FIR?
No. A complaint is an allegation. An FIR is a formal registration of information about a cognizable offence under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Until an FIR number exists, there may be nothing registered against you at all. Many complaints are recorded in a station diary or general diary and go no further.
How do I verify whether the caller is really a police officer?
Ask for his name, designation, police station and the complaint number in writing. Then independently confirm by calling the police station on a publicly listed number. Do not rely on the number he called from. If he is genuine, none of this will be a problem for him.
Should I get a written notice before going to the station?
Yes. Section 35 of the BNSS requires a police officer to issue a written notice of appearance where arrest is not required, and the notice itself must state the grounds. If no notice and no FIR particulars exist, you are entitled to ask why you are being summoned, in writing.
Should I take a lawyer with me?
Yes. There is no rule that bars an advocate from accompanying you to a police station. An advocate present during questioning keeps the record straight and stops statements from being misread later.
Was writing the apology letter a mistake?
Not automatically. An apology that was never sent and never filed is a draft, not evidence of an offence. It becomes a problem only if the other side obtains it and it contains an express admission of specific acts.
How do I protect my studies and career?
Move the matter quickly towards clarity rather than letting it drift. Most academic and employment disclosures turn on whether a case is actually pending, so knowing whether an FIR exists is the first practical step.
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.
Preserve everything. Do not delete chats, call logs, or screenshots, because a deleted record looks worse than an awkward one.
Do not contact the complainant directly. Any attempt to "sort it out" on your own can be recast as further harassment.
And here's the thing: this category of matter turns on procedural detail, the difference between a station diary entry and a registered FIR, the wording of a notice, and the sequence of statements. Those nuances are often missed by a general practitioner, which is why matters handled by an advocate who regularly deals with such complaints tend to move faster and end better.
Put your version of events in writing, dated, and hand it to your advocate. Panic produces bad letters. Preparation produces good ones.
Applicable Sections of Law
- Section 78, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,
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.