Criminal law
Complaints and FIRs, bail and anticipatory bail, investigation, quashing, trial and appeal — under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, before the courts in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Criminal matters for individuals and businesses, from the first notice through to appeal.
The FIR, the notice of appearance under Section 35(3), the first remand and the first bail application are decided on what is on the record at the time, and that record is largely made in the days after the complaint. What is said to the police, what is produced and what is not, and whether the notice was answered, are all read back at every later stage.
Describe your matterThe provisions, the periods and the procedure, in order.
Last reviewed 23 September 2026
BNS, BNSS and BSA, 2023 — from 1 July 2024
Three Acts replaced the old criminal law with effect from 1 July 2024. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
The old law has not gone. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is still an offence under the Penal Code, and Section 531(2)(a) of the Sanhita saves any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending before that date, which continues under the Code. High Courts have taken differing views on how far that saving extends to a later stage of the same matter, so which code applies to a given step is a question to be checked rather than assumed.
Which court hears the matter depends on the offence. A magistrate takes cognizance and tries the lesser offences; a sessions court tries those exclusively triable by it, on committal; and the High Court at Bombay hears quashing, revision and the appeals that lie to it.
BNSS, ss. 173, 175, 223
Section 173 governs information about a cognizable offence. It may now be given electronically, and it may be recorded irrespective of where the offence was committed — what is commonly called a zero FIR — and then transferred to the police station having jurisdiction.
For an offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven, Section 173(3) allows the officer, with the prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, to conduct a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to see whether a prima facie case exists, rather than registering at once.
Where the police refuse to register, Section 175(3) allows an application to the magistrate, and Section 223 allows a complaint to be made to the magistrate directly. The magistrate examines the complainant on oath before taking cognizance, and the accused is now given an opportunity of being heard before cognizance is taken on a complaint.
BNSS, ss. 480, 482, 483; s. 187(3)
Anticipatory bail is applied for under Section 482, to the sessions court or the High Court, where there is reason to believe that arrest on an accusation of a non-bailable offence may follow. Regular bail after arrest is applied for under Section 480 before the magistrate, and under Section 483 before the sessions court or the High Court.
Section 187(3) provides for release on default where the investigation is not completed within the period allowed — sixty days, or ninety days for the more serious offences — and the right is exercised on the day it arises, because it is lost once the charge sheet is filed.
Section 479 provides for the release of an undertrial who has been detained for a period of the maximum sentence, with a first-time offender released on bond after one third of it. What is put before the court on any of these applications is the record as it stands: the FIR, the remand papers, the antecedents and what the investigation has actually produced.
BNSS, ss. 35, 183, 187
Section 35 sets when a police officer may arrest without a warrant, and Section 35(3) requires a notice of appearance instead of arrest for an offence punishable with less than seven years where arrest is not necessary. A person who complies with that notice is not to be arrested unless the officer records reasons.
An arrested person must be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, excluding the time of the journey. Section 187 governs remand and the periods of custody, and Section 183 governs the recording of confessions and statements by a magistrate, which are recorded in a particular way for a reason.
The Sanhita makes audio-video recording part of the process at several points — search and seizure, and the statement of a victim in certain offences among them. What was recorded, and what was not, is often what the matter turns on later.
BNSS, s. 528
Section 528 preserves the inherent power of the High Court to make orders necessary to give effect to the Sanhita, to prevent abuse of the process of any court, or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. It is the provision an FIR or a complaint is quashed under.
The categories in which the power is exercised were set out by the Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal — among them, where the allegations taken at face value do not make out an offence, where they are absurd or inherently improbable, where there is a legal bar to the proceeding, and where the proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fides.
The court does not weigh evidence at this stage. The application stands or falls on the FIR, the charge sheet and the documents on record read as they are, which is why what those documents say matters more than what either side asserts about them.
BNSS, ss. 250, 251; BSA, 2023
Before a sessions trial, the accused may apply for discharge under Section 250 on the ground that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding. If the application fails, charge is framed under Section 251 and the trial begins. The corresponding stages before a magistrate follow the summons or warrant procedure, according to the offence.
Evidence is governed by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which carries forward the law of the Evidence Act and puts electronic records on a clearer footing, with the certificate for electronic evidence in the form the Adhiniyam prescribes.
The prosecution leads its evidence, each witness is cross-examined, the accused is examined on the circumstances appearing against him, defence evidence may be led, and the matter goes to final argument. What was put to a witness in cross-examination, and what was not, is what the judgment is written on.
BNSS, ss. 415, 438
An appeal from a conviction lies under Section 415 — to the sessions court from a magistrate, and to the High Court from a sessions court, according to the sentence. An appeal against acquittal lies as provided, and with leave where the Sanhita requires it.
Along with the appeal, suspension of sentence and bail pending appeal are applied for, and the appellate court considers the sentence as well as the conviction.
Revision under Section 438 lies against orders that are not appealable. The grounds are narrower — the correctness, legality or propriety of the order — and the court does not re-hear the evidence. The trial court record decides what is open, which is why the trial is where an appeal is won or lost.
How a criminal matter is run, on either side of it.
Short answers on the points that decide most of these matters.
Read what it is. A notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita requires appearance, not arrest, and a person who complies with it is not to be arrested unless the officer records reasons for doing so. Keep the notice and the envelope, note the date of service, and take advice before answering, because what is said at that stage is on the record for the rest of the matter.
Anticipatory bail, under Section 482, is applied for before arrest, to the sessions court or the High Court, where there is reason to believe arrest on an accusation of a non-bailable offence may follow. Regular bail is applied for after arrest — under Section 480 before the magistrate, and under Section 483 before the sessions court or the High Court.
The High Court may quash an FIR or a complaint under Section 528 of the Sanhita, which preserves its inherent power to prevent abuse of the process of any court. The categories in which that is done were set out in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal — among them, where the allegations taken at face value do not make out an offence, where they are inherently improbable, and where there is a legal bar to the proceeding. The court does not weigh evidence at that stage.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 applies to offences committed on or after 1 July 2024. An offence committed before that date remains an offence under the Indian Penal Code. Section 531(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita saves any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending before that date, which continues under the old Code. High Courts have differed on how far that saving reaches into later stages, so it is checked matter by matter.
Where the investigation is not completed within the period the Sanhita allows — sixty days, or ninety days for the more serious offences — Section 187(3) gives the accused a right to be released on bail. It is exercised on the day it arises, because it is lost once the charge sheet is filed.
Whatever exists: the FIR or the complaint, any notice served by the police and the envelope it came in, remand and custody papers, seizure memos, bail orders, the charge sheet if one has been filed, and any correspondence. If nothing has been served yet, bring a note of the dates and what was said.
It depends on the offence, the court, whether the accused is in custody, and how the evidence runs. The Sanhita sets outer limits at several stages — for framing charge, for judgment after argument — but how long a particular matter takes is not something that can be promised.
The rest of the work the firm is instructed on.
A question about a case
or a notice?
Say what the allegation is, which police station or court it is in, and what stage it has reached. You will be told what the law provides on those facts and what the next step is.
