Notice Under Section 35 BNSS: How to Respond When Police Call You

Notice Under Section 35 BNSS: How to Respond When Police Call You

A practical guide for accused persons, suspects, business owners and Hyderabad / Telangana litigants

Introduction

A notice under Section 35 BNSS is not an arrest warrant. It is a written direction from a police officer asking you to appear at a police station or another specified place during investigation of a cognizable offence. For many first-time recipients in Hyderabad, Cyberabad or Rachakonda, the shock is the same: a constable at the gate, a sealed paper, and the fear that custody is next.

Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1 July 2024, Section 35 is the modern home of the old Section 41 and Section 41A CrPC rules. In offences punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, notice is the rule and arrest is the exception. That protection is real only if you understand the paper, appear on time, and do not destroy the statutory shield by ignoring it.

This guide explains what a Section 35 notice is, how to check whether it is genuine, how to appear without harming your defence, what happens if you stay away, and when you should move the Sessions Court or the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail or quashing.

What a Section 35 BNSS Notice Actually Is

Section 35 deals with when police may arrest without a warrant. Sub-section (3) sits inside that framework. Where the officer does not need to arrest you under sub-section (1), the officer must issue a notice directing you to appear before him or at another place named in the notice.

In plain words: the investigating officer has material suggesting you may be connected with a cognizable offence, but has chosen appearance over immediate custody. The Second Schedule to the BNSS even provides Form No. 1 for this notice. A proper notice usually carries the police station name, a serial or dispatch number, your name and last known address, the FIR or case number, the alleged sections, the date, time and place of appearance, and the name, rank and seal of the issuing officer.

Do not confuse this paper with three other common police papers:

• A notice under Section 179 BNSS is primarily for examining a person acquainted with the facts (often a witness). Women, children under 15, persons above 60 or 65 in the witness provision, and persons with disability or acute illness have extra protection against being forced to the police station.
• A notice under Section 94 BNSS asks you to produce a document or thing. It is not by itself an arrest notice.
• A magistrate’s summons or a warrant is a court process, not a Section 35 police notice.

When Police Must Issue the Notice Instead of Arresting You

For a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, or which may extend to seven years, arrest without warrant is not automatic. The officer must first have reason to believe that you committed the offence, and must also be satisfied that arrest is necessary for at least one listed purpose — preventing a further offence, proper investigation, protecting evidence, stopping inducement or threat to witnesses, or securing your presence in court. Those reasons must be recorded in writing.

Where those necessity conditions are not made out, Section 35(3) requires a notice of appearance. The Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 laid down this discipline under the old CrPC. The same Court in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022, with later monitoring including a January 2026 order) has treated notice as the default and arrest as a narrow exception for this punishment band. Subsequent reporting of the January 2026 order confirms the Court said a Section 35(3) notice is the rule, and arrest under Section 35(6) read with Section 35(1)(b) is the exception. The exact paragraph numbering of the 2026 order should be verified from the certified copy before citing it in a petition.

Section 35(7) adds a further filter. If the alleged offence is punishable with imprisonment of less than three years, and the person is infirm or above sixty years of age, arrest needs prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

None of this means police can never arrest for a seven-year offence. Serious facts, absconding, tampering, or a recorded necessity finding can still justify custody. The point is that mechanical arrest is unlawful.

How to Check Whether the Notice Is Genuine

Fraudsters now send WhatsApp PDFs, fake letterheads and “pay to close the FIR” messages. Treat every paper with suspicion until you verify it.

1. Read the heading. A genuine notice should cite Section 35(3) of the BNSS, 2023, not a random IPC/CrPC mix from 2010.
2. Look for FIR or crime number, police station, alleged sections, date and time of appearance, and the issuing officer’s name, rank and seal.
3. Cross-check the FIR on the official citizen or CCTNS / state police portal, or by a discreet enquiry through counsel at the named police station. Do not rely on a screenshot sent by an unknown number.
4. The Karnataka High Court held in 2024 that if a Section 35 notice does not mention the crime number, the offence alleged, or annex a copy of the FIR, the noticee is, subject to just exceptions, not obliged to appear and coercive action should not follow from that defective paper. Telangana practice is not identical; treat this as persuasive and still take advice before staying away.
5. The Supreme Court has held that electronic communication such as WhatsApp or email is not a valid mode of service of a Section 35 notice, because non-compliance can lead to arrest. A message on your phone is a warning to verify, not proof of lawful service. Confirm the current standing order of Telangana Police on this point before relying on it in court.

Your Legal Duty After a Valid Notice

Section 35(4) makes compliance a duty. You must appear at the time and place stated, or obtain a written adjournment for a genuine reason before the date. Courts treat deliberate evasion of physical service as non-cooperation.

Section 35(5) is the protection you buy by appearing. If you comply and continue to comply, you shall not be arrested for the offence mentioned in the notice unless the officer records reasons and forms the opinion that you ought to be arrested.

Section 35(6) is the risk you create by staying away. If you fail to comply, or are unwilling to identify yourself, the officer may arrest you for the offence mentioned in the notice, subject to any existing court order. The Supreme Court has also clarified that non-compliance does not make arrest automatic. The officer must still apply mind to necessity. In practice, however, ignoring a genuine notice is the fastest way to convert a manageable investigation into custody.

How to Respond: Step-by-Step Procedure

In the first few hours

1. Photograph the notice on all sides, including the seal and the envelope or serving officer’s details. Note the date and time of service.
2. Do not discuss the case on WhatsApp groups, with the complainant, or with anyone who may later become a witness.
3. Call a criminal advocate immediately. Share the FIR number, police station and alleged sections.
4. If the date is too close or you are travelling, send a short written request for another date, with proof of posting or personal delivery, and keep a copy.
5. Decide, on facts, whether you also need anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS before the appearance date.

What to carry on the appearance date

• Original notice and two photocopies.
• Photo identity proof and address proof.
• A one-page personal particulars sheet: name, parentage, age, occupation, current address, phone, and a contact person.
• Only those documents your advocate has cleared. Do not volunteer diaries, phones or ledgers unless legally required.
• If you are a company director or partner, a board resolution or authority letter if you appear for the entity — but remember, a Section 35 notice to you personally is about you, not only the company.
• Your advocate. Access to counsel during interrogation is a settled protection. You can answer identity questions and cooperate with investigation without signing a confession.

Inside the police station

• Ask for the FIR copy if it was not annexed. Under the BNSS framework you are entitled to know the accusation.
• Request a written acknowledgement of appearance. Some State circulars even annex a model acknowledgement. If the officer refuses, record the time of arrival and departure in a contemporaneous note and have your advocate witness it.
• Do not sign blank papers, undated statements, or “voluntary” writings drafted by the writer.
• Article 20(3) of the Constitution protects you against being compelled to be a witness against yourself. Appearance is mandatory. Self-incriminating answers are not.
• If questioning continues for hours without formal arrest, remember that prolonged detention dressed up as “enquiry” is not a substitute for the arrest and production rules. Production before a magistrate must follow a true arrest, generally within 24 hours excluding journey time.
• The Orissa High Court has held that requiring an accused to keep appearing every 15 days under a Section 35 / old 41A notice is not proper. A notice should be specific to investigation need, not a standing roll-call.

Forums and Remedies in Hyderabad and Telangana

The first forum is the investigating police station — typically a station under the Hyderabad, Cyberabad or Rachakonda Commissionerate, or a district station in Telangana. Cooperation is recorded there.

If arrest is a real risk despite the notice, the statutory remedy is anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the BNSS (the successor to Section 438 CrPC). In Telangana this is ordinarily moved before the Court of Session having territorial jurisdiction, or in appropriate cases directly before the Telangana High Court at Hyderabad. Conditions usually include cooperation with investigation, a bond, and a bar on influencing witnesses.

If the FIR itself discloses no offence, is a civil dispute dressed as crime, or is an abuse of process, a criminal petition to quash may be filed before the Telangana High Court under Section 528 BNSS (the successor to Section 482 CrPC), or in exceptional cases a writ under Article 226. Quashing is not a routine substitute for trial. The Supreme Court in Practical Solutions Inc. v. State of Telangana (January 2026) cautioned that when a High Court refuses to quash, it should not grant indirect arrest protection that is really anticipatory bail by another name. If your real need is liberty, file the bail petition. Do not expect a quash order to double as a stay on arrest.

If you are arrested, the next forum is the jurisdictional Magistrate for remand and regular bail. The Magistrate must apply mind to the Arnesh Kumar checklist and the reasons recorded under Section 35. Mechanical remand can be challenged.

A High Court writ against a mere notice is exceptional. Courts generally expect you to appear, cooperate, and use Section 482 or Section 528 BNSS on proper facts.

Documents and Evidence That Matter

Your file should be built from day one, even if you hope the case will close as “false” or “civil”.

• Notice, proof of service, and acknowledgement of appearance.
• FIR and, later, statements and the chargesheet when filed.
• Travel, medical or work proof if you sought adjournment.
• Contracts, invoices, bank statements or chats if the dispute is commercial and the FIR alleges cheating — these often show a civil colour.
• Proof that you did not abscond: tickets, office attendance, Aadhaar-linked address.
• Any prior High Court or Sessions order protecting you.

Timelines That Actually Matter

There is no statutory “15-day reply period” printed into Section 35. The date on the notice is the deadline. Ask for another date in writing before that day if you cannot attend.

Investigation after first information has outer limits under the BNSS, but those limits are about completing investigation and filing the police report, not about how long a notice remains alive. A fresh notice can be issued if further questioning is needed. Repeated, purposeless notices can be challenged, but one or two genuine follow-up dates are normal.

Anticipatory bail should be moved before arrest becomes imminent — often as soon as a genuine notice or FIR naming you is in hand. Quashing has no rigid limitation clock like a civil suit, but delay plus non-cooperation weakens the petition.

If arrested, production before the Magistrate is generally within 24 hours excluding the time of journey. Default bail clocks under Section 187 BNSS (the successor to Section 167 CrPC) start from custody. Those clocks should be calculated by counsel on the exact offence and whether the case is punishable up to seven years or more.

Common Mistakes That Cost People Their Liberty

• Treating the notice as optional because “I am innocent”. Innocence is a trial defence. Non-appearance is an arrest trigger.
• Sending a relative instead of appearing, without written permission of the officer.
• Arguing the full case at the police station, volunteering a long written “clarification” that later becomes Section 180 / 183 material.
• Handing over an unlocked phone “just to check WhatsApp”.
• Paying a tout who claims he can “close the notice”.
• Filing only a quash petition and assuming arrest cannot happen while it is pending. Unless the High Court stays coercive action, investigation continues.
• Ignoring a second date after you appeared once. Section 35(5) protects those who continue to comply.
• Assuming a WhatsApp PDF is valid service — or, the opposite, assuming you can hide because only a WhatsApp message arrived. Verify and take advice.

When You Should Consult an Advocate Immediately

Take counsel the same day if any of these are true: the alleged sections include serious BNS offences; you are a guarantor, director or partner named in a loan, GST or company dispute that has turned criminal; there is already an attempt to seize phones or premises; you have another pending FIR; you live outside the Commissionerate and cannot reach the station on the given date; or the complainant is using the police station as a recovery agency for a civil debt.

An advocate’s job at this stage is narrow and practical: verify the paper, decide appearance versus anticipatory bail, control what you say and sign, and keep a paper trail that a Magistrate or the High Court can later read.

Bullet-Point Checklist

• Confirm FIR number, police station and sections on an official source.
• Diary the exact date, time and place of appearance.
• Engage counsel before you walk in.
• Carry ID, the notice, and only pre-cleared papers.
• Appear on time. Ask for written acknowledgement.
• Do not sign blank or undated writings.
• Do not discuss the case with the complainant at the station.
• If the officer hints at arrest despite compliance, ask that reasons be recorded and call counsel; consider Section 482 BNSS.
• Keep copies of everything. Build the file as if a High Court judge will read it next month.
• If the notice is defective (no crime number, no offence, no FIR, only a WhatsApp file), do not celebrate — get a written opinion before you stay away.

Conclusion

A notice under Section 35 BNSS is often the least damaging way a criminal investigation can enter your life. The statute gives you a clear bargain: appear, identify yourself, continue to cooperate, and arrest for that offence needs written reasons. Break the bargain, and the same statute lets the officer take you into custody.

Verify the paper. Appear with counsel. Say less than you think you should. Build a file. If the accusation is hollow or custody is being used as pressure, use Section 482 or Section 528 BNSS in the proper court instead of hiding. That is how borrowers, directors and private citizens in Hyderabad actually come through a police notice without turning a paper problem into a remand problem.

Short Disclaimer

This article is for general public information. It is not legal advice, is not a solicitation, and does not create an advocate-client relationship. BNSS practice, High Court orders and police standing instructions continue to develop. Facts, alleged sections and the exact text of the notice control the next step. Consult a practising advocate with your papers before you act or stay away. Points marked for verification — including the precise citation of the January 2026 Satender Kumar Antil order and any Telangana Police standing order on electronic service — should be checked against certified copies and current official circulars before use in court.

Related reading

• NBW and recall in Section 138 matters — how to get an NBW set aside (Telangana)
• Is cheque bounce a criminal offence? Intent, defences and practical advice
• Can company directors be personally liable in Section 138 cases?
• Filing a writ against arbitrary GST demands — Telangana High Court checklist
• Bank account frozen by cyber police or DRT? Steps to unfreeze in Telangana
• Protecting guarantor property from SARFAESI action — practical steps

Received a Section 35 BNSS notice from a Hyderabad, Cyberabad or Rachakonda police station? Send a clear photo of all pages of the notice and the FIR number. We will tell you whether the paper is complete, whether you should appear as is, and whether anticipatory bail or a quash petition should be filed before the appearance date. — End of article —