A Section 35 BNSS notice is a written direction from an investigating police officer requiring you to appear before him at a stated place and time. It is not an arrest, and it is not a finding of guilt. Read correctly, it is the opposite: the officer has formed the view that your arrest is not required, and the law obliges him to issue a notice rather than pick you up. What turns that in the wrong direction is ignoring it, because Section 35(6) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 permits arrest of a person who fails to comply with the terms of the notice.
What a Section 35 BNSS notice is, and what it is not
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Section 35 BNSS now carries what used to sit in two separate provisions: Section 41 CrPC, on when police may arrest without a warrant, and Section 41A CrPC, on the notice of appearance.
Sub-section (3) is the operative part. Where a cognizable offence is alleged and arrest is not required under sub-section (1), the police officer "shall" issue a notice directing the person to appear before him or at such other place as may be specified. Sub-section (4) makes it your duty to comply. Sub-section (5) is the protection that matters most: where you comply and continue to comply, you shall not be arrested for the offence mentioned in the notice unless the officer, for reasons to be recorded, forms the opinion that you ought to be arrested.
So the notice tells you four things at once. There is a cognizable case in which you are named or suspected. The investigating officer has, at least for now, decided against arrest. You have a statutory shield while you cooperate. And that shield falls away the moment you stop cooperating.
Four sub-sections of Section 35 decide how the notice works from the moment it reaches you.
Sub-section (3)
Where a cognizable offence is alleged and arrest is not required under sub-section (1), the officer shall issue a notice directing you to appear.
Sub-section (4)
Makes compliance with the terms of the notice your duty, so the appearance it directs is an obligation and not an invitation.
Sub-section (5)
Where you comply and continue to comply, you shall not be arrested for the offence named in the notice unless the officer records reasons.
Sub-section (6)
Permits arrest of a person who fails to comply with the terms of the notice, subject to such orders as a competent court has passed.
Key takeaway. Receiving this notice is not a reason to disappear. Section 35(5) protects the person who attends. Section 35(6) allows arrest of the person who does not. Non-appearance converts a manageable situation into an arrest and a remand application.
Section 35 BNSS notice compared with the old Section 41A CrPC notice
Most of the substance carried over unchanged, which is why decisions on Section 41A CrPC still guide how Section 35 is read. Two things did change, and one of them is a genuine new safeguard.
| Point | Old law: CrPC, 1973 | New law: BNSS, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Where the provisions sit | Section 41 (arrest without warrant) and Section 41A (notice of appearance) as separate sections | Both folded into a single Section 35, sub-sections (1) to (7) |
| When a notice must issue | Section 41A(1), where arrest is not required under Section 41(1)(b) | Section 35(3), in all cases where arrest is not required under sub-section (1) |
| Duty to comply | Section 41A(2) | Section 35(4) |
| No arrest while you comply | Section 41A(3), unless reasons are recorded | Section 35(5), unless reasons are recorded |
| Arrest on default | Section 41A(4), subject to court orders | Section 35(6), subject to court orders |
| Elderly and infirm persons | No equivalent | Section 35(7): no arrest without prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police where the offence carries less than three years and the person is infirm or above sixty |
| Which applies to your case | Investigations pending on 1 July 2024 continue under the CrPC by virtue of Section 531(2)(a) BNSS | Cases registered on or after 1 July 2024 |
That last row explains a common confusion. If the FIR predates 1 July 2024, the notice you hold may still be headed Section 41A CrPC, and that is correct. The content and your response are practically identical.
The necessity test the officer is supposed to apply
Section 35(1)(b) allows arrest in a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment which may be less than seven years, or which may extend to seven years, only if the officer has reason to believe the person committed the offence and is satisfied that arrest is necessary on one of five stated grounds: to prevent further offences, for proper investigation, to prevent disappearance or tampering with evidence, to prevent inducement or threats to witnesses, or because the person's presence in court cannot otherwise be ensured. The officer must record reasons while making such an arrest. The proviso adds the mirror obligation: in every case where arrest is not required, the officer must record in writing the reasons for not arresting.
This is not a formality. It is the architecture the Supreme Court built in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, decided on 2 July 2014 and reported as 2014 (8) SCC 273, which directed that a notice of appearance be served within two weeks of institution of the case, extendable by the Superintendent of Police, and that magistrates scrutinise the checklist of necessity grounds rather than authorise detention as a matter of routine.
What to do when the notice is served
- Read the notice for the four things that matter: the FIR number and police station, the sections alleged, the officer's name and rank, and the date, time and place you must attend.
- Acknowledge service. Sign the copy and keep your own copy with the date. If the notice arrives by post, courier, WhatsApp or email, save the delivery record; electronic modes are contemplated by Section 530 BNSS.
- Look up the punishment prescribed for the sections cited. Whether the offence is bailable or non-bailable, and whether it carries more or less than seven years, drives everything that follows.
- Speak to a criminal lawyer before the appearance date, not after it. If the date is impossible, write to the officer asking for a short adjournment and give a reason. A written request on record is very different from silence.
- Attend on the date. Carry photo identity, the notice, and any document that supports your version. Do not carry the original of anything you cannot afford to leave behind.
- Answer questions. You are not obliged to incriminate yourself, and a statement to the police under Section 180 BNSS is not signed by you and is not substantive evidence, but obstruction and evasion feed the necessity grounds in Section 35(1).
- Obtain an endorsement of your attendance on your copy of the notice each time you appear. That record is what your counsel will place before the court if arrest is later attempted.
Common mistake. Treating the notice as a summons that can be answered through a relative or an employee. The notice directs you to appear. Sending someone else, or attending once and then ceasing to respond, is treated as failure to comply and is precisely what Section 35(6) addresses.
Not every police paper is a Section 35 notice
| Instrument | Who issues it | What it signals | If you ignore it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice under Section 35(3) BNSS | Investigating police officer | You are a suspect in a cognizable case; arrest is not presently required | Arrest permissible under Section 35(6) |
| Order under Section 179 BNSS | Investigating police officer | You appear to know the facts and are wanted as a witness | Attendance is compellable, and the court may take a poor view |
| Summons under Section 63 BNSS | The court | Proceedings have begun before a magistrate | Warrant, and eventually proclamation |
| Warrant of arrest | The court | Your presence is being compelled by force of law | Arrest, and difficulty in obtaining bail |
The Section 179 order deserves a word. Its proviso says that no male under fifteen or above sixty, no woman, and no mentally or physically disabled person or person with an acute illness shall be required to attend at any place other than where that person resides. The categories protected are wider than they were under Section 160 CrPC, which covered males under fifteen and women. If a summons of that kind asks an elderly parent to report to a police station, the law says the police must come to the residence instead.
Why compliance matters when bail is argued
In Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation, decided on 11 July 2022, the Supreme Court directed courts to satisfy themselves on due compliance with Sections 41 and 41A CrPC when considering bail, held that non-compliance entitles the accused to bail, and directed State Governments to issue standing orders for the procedure. Read with Arnesh Kumar, the practical consequence is straightforward. A person who received a notice, attended every time, and was then arrested anyway is in a strong position, because the record shows there was no necessity. A person who never appeared has handed the prosecution its answer.
Two further protections apply if arrest does happen. Section 47 BNSS requires the arresting officer to communicate full particulars of the offence or the grounds of arrest forthwith. In Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana, decided on 7 February 2025 and carrying the neutral citation 2025 INSC 162, the Supreme Court held that informing the arrested person of the grounds of arrest under Article 22(1) of the Constitution is mandatory, that failure vitiates the arrest and the remand that follows, and that the burden of proving compliance lies on the investigating agency. Section 58 BNSS caps detention without a magistrate's order at twenty four hours, excluding journey time.
If an arrest does happen despite the notice, these are the protections that attach to it.
Section 47 BNSS
The arresting officer must communicate full particulars of the offence, or the grounds of arrest, to the person arrested forthwith.
Grounds of arrest mandatory
Informing the arrested person of the grounds of arrest under Article 22(1) is mandatory, and failure vitiates the arrest and the remand.
Burden on the agency
The burden of proving that the grounds of arrest were communicated lies on the investigating agency and not on the person arrested.
Section 58 BNSS
Detention without an order of a magistrate is capped at twenty four hours, excluding the time taken for the journey to court.
When to think about anticipatory bail
A Section 35 notice is not, by itself, a reason to rush to court. Where the offence is serious, where custodial interrogation is a realistic prospect, or where the conduct of the investigation suggests the notice is a device to secure your presence for an arrest, an application under Section 482 BNSS, which replaces Section 438 CrPC, is worth considering. Note that Section 35(6) makes arrest on default "subject to such orders as may have been passed by a competent Court", so a protective order genuinely bites. Where the FIR itself does not disclose an offence, the separate route is quashing under Section 482 CrPC, now Section 528 BNSS. Our note on anticipatory bail in India sets out how those applications are framed.
| Stage | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|
| Notice served after registration of the case | Arnesh Kumar contemplates service within two weeks, extendable by the Superintendent of Police with reasons |
| Appearance and recording of statement | Usually one visit of a few hours, sometimes repeated over the investigation |
| Anticipatory bail application | Satender Kumar Antil expects disposal within about six weeks, and regular bail applications within about two weeks |
| Completion of investigation and report to the magistrate | Typically sixty or ninety days from arrest where the accused is in custody, under Section 187 BNSS |
On cost, court fee on a bail or anticipatory bail application in Karnataka is nominal, generally a few hundred rupees including process and vakalat. Professional fees are not regulated and vary widely with the seriousness of the case and the forum, so the honest answer is that they should be discussed and agreed in writing at the outset rather than estimated in an article.
Deadline warning. If you cannot attend on the date stated, write to the investigating officer before the date and keep proof of dispatch. A request made a day late reads as evasion, and evasion is one of the recorded grounds on which an arrest is justified under Section 35(1).
A practitioner's note
Two mistakes recur. The first is silence. People receive the notice, panic, switch off the phone and travel, and return to find the file has hardened, with a diary entry recording non-cooperation. The second is over-talking. People attend alone, treat the visit as a chance to explain everything, and end up signing documents they have not read or handing over devices without any acknowledgment. The middle course is unglamorous and effective: appear, be polite, answer what is asked, insist on a written acknowledgment for every document or device handed over, and keep a dated record of each attendance. If you are asked to come again, note the date on your copy. Half the arguments at the bail stage are won or lost on whether that attendance record exists. For the wider procedure on how these cases begin, see our note on the zero FIR and how an FIR is registered, and our criminal defence and prosecution practice page.
Related guides and where to get help
- How to Quash an FIR in India: Section 482 / BNSS 528
- Quashing of FIR Under Section 482 CrPC / 528 BNSS
- Anticipatory Bail in India: A Plain-English Guide to Section 438 / BNSS 482
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Section 35 BNSS notice mean an FIR has been registered against me?
It means the police are investigating a cognizable offence and consider you a person against whom a reasonable complaint, credible information or reasonable suspicion exists. In most cases an FIR will have been registered, and you are entitled to ask for its number and the sections alleged.
Can I be arrested even after I attend?
Yes, but not casually. Section 35(5) says a person who complies and continues to comply shall not be arrested for the offence in the notice unless the officer, for reasons to be recorded, is of the opinion that arrest is warranted. Those recorded reasons are examinable by the magistrate and by the High Court.
Can I send my lawyer instead of going myself?
The notice requires your appearance. A lawyer can accompany you and, in practice, is often permitted to remain within sight during questioning, but attendance by proxy is not compliance.
What if the notice does not mention the offence or the FIR?
Ask in writing for those particulars before the date, and attend anyway. A defective notice is a point to argue later; it is not a licence to stay away, and staying away is what Section 35(6) punishes.
Is there any special protection for elderly or ill persons?
Section 35(7) requires prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police before arresting a person who is infirm or above sixty in an offence punishable with less than three years. Separately, the proviso to Section 179 BNSS means witnesses in protected categories cannot be summoned to a place other than their residence.
Can a woman be called to the police station at night?
Section 43(5) BNSS provides that, save in exceptional circumstances, no woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, and where such circumstances exist a woman police officer must obtain prior permission of the first class magistrate by written report. Questioning of a woman witness at her residence is the norm under the proviso to Section 179.
My notice says Section 41A CrPC and not Section 35 BNSS. Is it invalid?
Not if the case was registered before 1 July 2024. Section 531(2)(a) BNSS preserves investigations pending on that date under the old Code. Check the FIR date before you assume there is a defect.
Can the notice be served on WhatsApp or by email?
Service by electronic means is contemplated by Section 530 BNSS, which permits issuance and service of process in electronic mode. If you receive a notice that way, verify the officer and the FIR through the police station before acting on it, because impersonation of police officers over messaging apps is common.
What happens if I simply do not go?
The officer may arrest you for the offence mentioned in the notice, subject to any order of a competent court. Non-appearance also weakens your bail application, because compliance history is one of the first things the court asks about.
This article is general information as at the date of publication and is not legal advice. Criminal procedure is fact-sensitive, and anyone served with a police notice should take advice on their own facts.
