Criminal Law Questions and Answers in India

Criminal law in India is governed principally by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (which replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973). Between them they define offences, set out how an FIR is registered, and govern arrest, bail, investigation and trial.

The questions people bring here most often concern arrest and bail: what the police may and may not do, when anticipatory bail is available, how to get an FIR registered when a police station refuses, and what happens between the first hearing and charge framing. Others concern being on the receiving end of a complaint — cheque bouncing under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, dowry and domestic violence allegations, or cheating and fraud complaints.

A few rights are worth knowing before you ever need them. An arrested person must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. The grounds of arrest must be communicated. A woman may not ordinarily be arrested after sunset or before sunrise. In offences punishable with less than seven years, the police are expected to issue a notice of appearance rather than arrest outright, following the principles laid down in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar.

The difference between a cognizable and a non-cognizable offence decides almost everything that follows. In a cognizable case the police must register an FIR and may investigate without a magistrate's order; in a non-cognizable case a complaint goes to the magistrate first. If a station refuses to register a cognizable FIR, the escalation route runs to the Superintendent of Police and then to the magistrate under the complaint procedure.

Bail is not one thing either. Anticipatory bail is sought before arrest where apprehension is genuine, regular bail after arrest, and interim bail as a stopgap while an application is heard. Which one applies, and which court has jurisdiction, depends on the offence and the stage of the case.

Speak to a criminal advocate immediately if you have been summoned, arrested, or named in an FIR. Timelines in criminal matters are short and the first 48 hours frequently determine how the rest of the case runs.