Criminal Law

Get a certified copy of the FIR and take advice on anticipatory bail before doing anything else. Almost every option in a criminal case is wider before arrest than after it.

The FIR tells you the sections alleged, the police station investigating and therefore which court complex your matter belongs to. Until you have read it, any advice you receive is guesswork. Copies are available from the investigating police station and, for most Delhi districts, from the Delhi Police portal. If the offence is non-bailable, an application under Section 482 BNSS should be prepared in parallel rather than after.

Yes — that is anticipatory bail, under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. It is a direction that if you are arrested, you are to be released on bail.

It does not stop the investigation and it is not a finding of innocence. What it removes is the coercive leverage of custody while the case proceeds. The application lies before the Court of Session and, independently, before the Delhi High Court, and interim protection is usually sought on the first date so the position holds while the application is heard.

Usually within a day or two, and often the same day where the person is already in custody and the papers are available.

The practical constraints are obtaining the case record and which court is sitting, not the drafting. At Rohini, Tis Hazari, Saket, Dwarka and Karkardooma an urgent application can generally be moved once the FIR and arrest memo are in hand.

Default bail under Section 187 BNSS is an absolute right that arises when the investigating agency fails to file its chargesheet within the prescribed period — 60 or 90 days depending on the offence.

It is missed because it must be claimed while it is available. If the chargesheet is filed before the application is moved, the right is gone. This is a calendar exercise as much as an advocacy one, and it is one of the most commonly lost opportunities in Delhi criminal practice.

No. A notice under Section 35 BNSS requires you to attend and cooperate, not to submit to custody.

Attending as required is usually the right course and courts treat cooperation favourably when bail is later considered. Attend with an advocate's advice on what you are obliged to answer, keep a record of every attendance, and do not sign anything you have not read.

It follows the police station investigating the FIR, not where you live.

North-West Delhi matters go to Rohini, Central to Tis Hazari, South to Saket, South-West to Dwarka and East to Karkardooma. Bail after a Sessions refusal, quashing petitions and criminal appeals go to the Delhi High Court.

Yes, under Section 528 BNSS, by the Delhi High Court — but it is discretionary and not a substitute for trial.

Quashing is granted where the complaint discloses no offence even taken at its highest, where the proceedings are an abuse of process, or where the parties have genuinely settled a dispute that is essentially private. Offences that are serious or against the State are far less readily quashed on settlement.

From 1 July 2024 the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.

Matters registered before that date generally continue under the old codes, so Delhi courts are running both systems side by side. Section numbers have changed — anticipatory bail moved from 438 CrPC to 482 BNSS, quashing from 482 CrPC to 528 BNSS, and cruelty from 498A IPC to 85 BNS. Confirming which code governs your FIR is the first thing to establish.

Section 85 BNS is the successor to Section 498A IPC — cruelty to a married woman by her husband or his relatives.

It is cognizable and non-bailable, which is why anticipatory bail is usually the immediate priority. These complaints frequently arrive alongside divorce, maintenance and domestic violence proceedings, and are best handled as one connected strategy rather than as separate cases.

Sometimes — through compounding where the offence permits it, or through quashing under Section 528 BNSS on the basis of the settlement.

This works most readily for matrimonial and commercial disputes that are private in character. It does not work for serious offences, and a court will examine whether the settlement is genuine and voluntary rather than simply recorded on paper.

The court decides whether there is enough material to put you on trial, and you can argue for discharge at that point.

This is an underused stage. If the chargesheet does not disclose the ingredients of the offence alleged, discharge ends the matter without a trial. It requires the chargesheet and case record to be read closely against each section charged.

Commonly two to five years in the district courts, and longer for serious offences or where there are many witnesses.

Realistic timelines matter because they affect strategy. Prolonged incarceration with no early prospect of trial is itself a recognised ground for bail, particularly in NDPS and economic offence matters.

In a bailable offence bail is a right and is granted by the police or the court as a matter of course; in a non-bailable offence it is at the court's discretion.

Non-bailable does not mean bail is unavailable — it means it must be applied for and argued. Most serious offences under the BNS are non-bailable, which is why the timing of the application matters so much.

Yes. A fresh application can be moved before the Delhi High Court, and refusal below does not bar it.

A High Court application is not an appeal in the ordinary sense — it is considered afresh. A material change in circumstances, such as the chargesheet being filed, the investigation concluding, parity with a released co-accused, or medical grounds, strengthens it considerably.

The FIR or complaint, any notice or summons, any order already passed, and a dated chronology of events.

The chronology is the most useful and the most often missing. Dates of the alleged incident, the complaint, any notice, any attendance at the police station and any payment or communication between the parties usually determine what can be argued.

Not always — exemption from personal appearance can be sought for many dates, and is commonly granted where attendance is genuinely difficult.

This matters particularly for clients working abroad or in another city. Some stages, such as framing of charge, recording of statements and judgment, ordinarily require presence.

It is a declaration by a court that an accused has absconded and failed to appear despite process — and yes, it can be challenged and set aside.

It often arises when someone was never actually served, or was abroad and unaware of the proceedings. The usual route is to appear, explain the absence with evidence, apply to cancel the proclamation and simultaneously seek bail.

Fees depend on the stage, the court and the complexity, and are agreed in writing before work begins.

What can be said generally is that early advice is almost always cheaper than late repair — a bail application moved at the right time costs a fraction of an appeal against a conviction. You will be told what a stage involves and what it costs before you commit to it.