Police Powers in India: What Police Can and Cannot Do (2026)

Most Indians do not know what the police are allowed to do — and what they are not. That gap is the reason for false arrests, illegal searches, and refused FIRs every day. This guide explains your rights in plain English.

• Police must register an FIR for any cognizable offence — refusal is illegal (Lalita Kumari, 2014).
• For offences with maximum punishment up to 7 years, police should issue a notice under Section 35 BNSS instead of arresting (Arnesh Kumar, 2014).
• After arrest, you must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours (excluding travel time).
• Police must give a memo of arrest and inform your family — not optional (DK Basu guidelines).
• You have the right to silence, right to a lawyer, and right to a copy of the FIR.
• A woman cannot be arrested between sunset and sunrise except by a woman officer with magistrate's permission.
• Free legal aid helpline: 15100.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1 July 2024. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 replaced the IPC. Key provisions:

• BNSS Section 35 — when police can arrest without a warrant.
• BNSS Section 36 — police must wear a name badge during arrest and prepare a memorandum signed by a witness.
• BNSS Section 47 — must inform grounds of arrest.
• BNSS Section 48 — right to inform a relative or friend.
• BNSS Section 58 — must be produced before magistrate within 24 hours.
• BNSS Section 173 — registration of FIR.
• BNSS Section 175(3) — if police refuse to register an FIR, the magistrate can direct registration.
• DK Basu v. State of WB (1997) — Supreme Court's 11-point arrest checklist (still binding).
• Lalita Kumari v. State of UP (2014) — mandatory FIR for cognizable offences.
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) — caution against arrest in offences with ≤ 7 years jail.

• Ask the officer's name, rank, and station before answering anything.
• Refuse to enter a police station without a written notice; ask for the notice to be served at your address.
• Insist on a Section 35 BNSS notice if the alleged offence carries ≤ 7 years jail.
• Record audio/video of any interaction in a public place — legal in India.
• Demand a free copy of the FIR under Section 173(2) BNSS — legal right.
• Refuse to sign blank papers or undated confessions.
• Get a written receipt for any document, phone, or item the police seize.
• Use free legal aid (NALSA) — call 15100 from anywhere in India.

• Physically resist a lawful arrest — itself an offence (BNS Section 132).
• Give false information — BNS Section 217 (up to 6 months jail).
• Destroy or tamper with evidence — BNS Section 238.
• Threaten or assault an officer on duty.
• Refuse to give your name and address when stopped under Section 35(1)(b) BNSS — silence on identity itself is an offence.

1. Stay polite. Ask the officer's name, rank, and station.
2. Ask the reason. If a vehicle check, ask under which section.
3. Hand over driving licence and RC. Do not hand over your phone unless they have a search warrant or a written order under Section 185 BNSS.

1. Ask for a written notice under Section 35 BNSS.
2. Note the date, time, place mentioned.
3. Inform a family member; carry a friend or lawyer (cannot be denied access).
4. You may answer questions truthfully, but you have the right to refuse to answer anything that may incriminate you (Article 20(3) Constitution).

1. Note the exact time and place of arrest.
2. Demand an arrest memo signed by a witness (DK Basu rule). Keep a copy.
3. Insist on your one phone call to family or lawyer.
4. Demand a medical examination before lock-up (BNSS Section 53).
5. You must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.

1. Send a written complaint by speed post to the Superintendent of Police (BNSS Section 173(4)).
2. If still refused, file a complaint to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS.
3. File a parallel complaint with the State Human Rights Commission.

• Aadhaar / driving licence / Voter ID — original + photocopy.
• Sheet with your lawyer's number, family contacts, blood group.
• Recordings: video of the interaction, photographs of seized items.
• Receipts: arrest memo, FIR copy, seizure list, medical report, magistrate remand paper.

• For citizens — wrongful complaint or false statement: BNS Sections 217, 229 (up to 7 years).
• For police misconduct — departmental enquiry, prosecution under BNS Sections 196 (wrongful confinement) / 198 (custodial violence), and monetary compensation through writ petition under Article 226 (HC) or 32 (SC).
• NHRC compensation: typically ₹50,000 – ₹10,00,000 for custodial torture / illegal detention based on precedent.

• Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka have their own Police Acts that supplement BNSS — search procedures and FIR-registration norms can differ.
• Jammu & Kashmir / Union Territories — BNSS now applies after 2019 reorganisation.
• Northeastern states with AFSPA-notified areas have different arrest powers; DK Basu rules still apply.

1. Signing blank papers in the lock-up — never do this.
2. Believing “we don't need to give the FIR copy” — you have a legal right to it.
3. Going to the station alone — always carry a witness or lawyer.
4. Giving your phone PIN voluntarily — police need a magistrate's order under Section 185 BNSS.
5. Paying “settlement money” to officers — bribery, an offence on both sides.
6. Believing “we'll call you back later” — get the next-step in writing.
7. Not following up on your own FIR — you can ask for a status report after 30 days under Section 193(3)(ii) BNSS.

Only in narrow situations (urgency, hot pursuit). Otherwise they need a search warrant from a magistrate (BNSS Sections 96–97). Even without a warrant, the search must be done with two independent witnesses from the locality and a search list signed by them.

Yes for men in cognizable offences. No for women between sunset and sunrise, except by a woman officer with prior magistrate's permission (BNSS Section 43(5)).

Detention is brief questioning at the police station; arrest is formal custody. Beyond a few hours, detention without arrest formalities is illegal (DK Basu).

Yes — unless served a written notice under Section 35 BNSS.

They cannot extract data without a magistrate's order and a hash-protected forensic protocol (Section 185 BNSS read with the IT Act).

Demand the medical examination on arrest and at release (BNSS Sections 53 and 56). Complain to the magistrate at first production. File NHRC and SHRC complaints. Custodial death is now a defined offence under BNS Section 200.

Yes — anyone who knows of a cognizable offence can give the information (BNSS Section 173).

You can lodge an FIR at any police station regardless of jurisdiction; that station must register it and transfer to the correct station. Refusal of zero FIR is itself misconduct.

Politely refuse. Insist on a written notice. Going voluntarily can be twisted as confession or detention.

SP → State Police Complaints Authority (mandated by Prakash Singh, 2006) → State Human Rights Commission → NHRC (nhrc.nic.in) → High Court writ.

• Save 15100 (NALSA) and 112 (emergency).
• If stopped: name, station, reason — note all three.
• If arrested: arrest memo, family informed, medical, 24-hour rule.
• If FIR refused: SP letter → Magistrate Section 175(3) → Court.
• Never sign anything without reading; never share passwords without a court order.
• Get FIR copy and seizure list — legal right.
• For misconduct: complaint to SP, NHRC, High Court.

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — egazette.gov.in
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — egazette.gov.in
• DK Basu v. State of West Bengal — 1997 (1) SCC 416
• Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of UP — (2014) 2 SCC 1
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar — (2014) 8 SCC 273
• Prakash Singh v. Union of India — (2006) 8 SCC 1
• National Human Rights Commission — nhrc.nic.in
• National Legal Services Authority — nalsa.gov.in

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