By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 3 November 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice: see our disclaimer
Three different pieces of paper get lumped together as a police notice, but they are not the same thing and do not carry the same weight. A notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced the old Section 41A of the CrPC from 1 July 2024, is issued by a police officer to a person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information exists, where the officer has formed the view that arrest is not necessary for an offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years; it directs the person to appear, usually at the police station, at a stated date and time. A summons under the general criminal procedure provisions is a more formal direction, issued either by police during investigation of any offence or by a court once a case is actually before it, requiring attendance for a specific stated purpose. A notice from a court itself, separate from either of these, is sent once a complaint or case has been registered and a magistrate or judge has taken cognizance, and usually fixes a date for appearance or filing a response.
This piece deals with these three only at the level of what they are and what responding to each generally involves; it is not advice on any particular case, and nothing here should be read as guidance on how to resist, delay or avoid a lawful process. A person who has actually received any such document should treat the specifics of their own matter as something only a lawyer familiar with the facts can advise on.
The BNSS Section 35(3) Notice: Notice Instead of Arrest
Section 35 of the BNSS carries forward, with changes, what Section 41A of the CrPC used to do. Where an offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years, the Supreme Court has held that a notice to appear under Section 35(3) is meant to be the rule and arrest the exception, so a police officer who does not consider arrest necessary must ordinarily issue this written notice rather than take the person into custody directly. The Court has also held that such a notice must be served physically on the person; serving it only through WhatsApp or another electronic channel does not satisfy the requirement.
A person who receives this notice is required to comply with its terms, which generally means appearing at the stated place and time, and failing to comply can itself become a ground for arrest. The notice does not by itself mean a case has been filed in court, and it is a different thing from being formally accused in a First Information Report, though an FIR may already exist or may follow. Responding to such a notice is a factual and strategic question that depends heavily on the specific allegation, and general reading of the provision is not a substitute for advice on the actual notice received.
An Ordinary Summons During Investigation or Before a Court
A summons is used both by police during investigation, to call a witness or a person who may have relevant information, and separately by a magistrate or court once a case is pending, to secure the attendance of an accused, a witness, or a party to produce a document. The two are issued under different statutory provisions and for different purposes even though both are called a summons in ordinary speech. A police summons during investigation is governed by the provisions on attendance of witnesses, while a court summons once a case or complaint is pending follows the chapter on process to compel appearance, now restructured under the BNSS but substantially carrying forward the scheme that existed under the CrPC.
The common thread is that a summons states a specific purpose, a specific authority issuing it, and a specific date; it is not, by itself, an accusation of guilt, whether it comes from a police station or a court. Non-appearance without a reasonable excuse can lead to further coercive process, including a warrant, so a person who cannot attend on the stated date generally needs to seek an adjournment or exemption through the proper channel rather than simply ignore the summons.
A Notice From the Court Itself, Once a Case Is Registered
Once a magistrate takes cognizance of a complaint, whether filed by police after investigation or filed directly by a private complainant, the court issues its own notice or summons to the accused to appear on a fixed date. This is procedurally distinct from a police notice or a police summons, because it means a judicial authority has already looked at the material placed before it and decided the matter deserves to proceed to that stage, even though taking cognizance is not a finding of guilt. A court notice typically also sets out, or is accompanied by, the provisions of law under which the case has been registered, which lets the recipient understand broadly what is alleged before appearing.
Where bail or custody questions later arise during a prolonged trial, the BNSS also sets limits on how long an undertrial can be kept in detention: under Section 479, which carries forward the earlier Section 436A of the CrPC, a person who has been in detention for half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence is ordinarily entitled to release on bail, and a first-time offender with no prior conviction can seek release after one-third of that maximum term, except where the offence carries death or life imprisonment, or where the person faces more than one pending case.
What Generally Happens If a Notice or Summons Is Ignored
In general terms, and without reference to any particular case, ignoring a BNSS Section 35(3) notice can lead the police to treat arrest as now necessary, since the non-compliance itself is a recognised ground for it. Ignoring an investigation summons can lead to similar consequences, since cooperation with a lawful investigative process is itself something the law expects. Ignoring a court summons or notice in a case that is already pending can lead to a bailable or non-bailable warrant being issued, and in some circumstances to the person being declared a proclaimed offender if the evasion continues over time. None of this means every notice must be treated the same way procedurally, since the available response, such as appearing through counsel, seeking an exemption from personal appearance, or seeking anticipatory bail before a notice escalates further, depends entirely on the specific provision, the stage of the case and the facts alleged.
The Basic Difference Between a Bailable and a Non-Bailable Matter
Whether an offence is bailable or non-bailable is a separate classification that runs alongside all of the above, and it is fixed by the schedule attached to the criminal law rather than by anything a police officer decides case by case. In a bailable matter, a person has, broadly speaking, a right to be released on bail by the police or the court as a matter of course, on furnishing the required bond or surety. In a non-bailable matter, bail is a matter of discretion for the court, guided by the facts of the case, and is not a right that arises simply because the case is pending. A BNSS Section 35(3) notice and the classification of an offence as bailable or non-bailable are two separate things that happen to overlap in many cases, since the notice-before-arrest approach is tied to the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence rather than to its bailable or non-bailable status as such.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does receiving a BNSS Section 35(3) notice mean I have been arrested or accused in an FIR?
No. The notice is specifically meant as an alternative to arrest for offences punishable up to seven years, and it does not by itself establish guilt or necessarily mean an FIR naming the recipient already exists, though one may exist separately or follow later.
Can the police serve this notice to me over WhatsApp or email?
The Supreme Court has held that a Section 35(3) BNSS notice must be served physically on the person concerned, and that service through WhatsApp or similar electronic means does not satisfy the requirement, based on reported rulings on this point.
What is the real difference between a summons and a court notice?
A summons, whether from police during investigation or from a court, is a direction to appear for a specific purpose at a specific time. A court notice specifically follows a magistrate taking cognizance of a complaint or chargesheet, meaning a judicial authority has already decided the matter should proceed to that stage.
How long can someone be kept in custody while a trial is still going on?
Under Section 479 of the BNSS, a person generally becomes eligible for bail once detention reaches half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence, or one-third for a genuine first-time offender, subject to exclusions for offences carrying death or life imprisonment and for persons facing more than one pending case.
References & Further Reading
The provisions and rulings below were relied on for this guide. The position can change with amendments and later decisions, so check the current text and the latest case law before acting on any of it.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Section 35 (notice in lieu of arrest, replacing Section 41A CrPC)
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Section 479 (maximum period of detention for an undertrial, replacing Section 436A CrPC)
- Supreme Court rulings on Section 35(3) BNSS requiring physical service of notice and treating notice as the rule for offences up to seven years' imprisonment
- Related: Quashing an FIR in the High Court: Section 528 BNSS and the Settled Tests; Free Legal Aid in India: Who Is Eligible and How to Apply