Arrest, FIR & Police Notice: Your Rights 2026

A police officer stopped you, summoned you to the station, asked to search your phone, refused to register your FIR, or arrested you. The law gives you far more protection than most officers disclose at the moment of contact. Article 22 guarantees grounds-of-arrest + counsel. §35 BNSS governs when arrest is permissible — and for offences punishable up to 7 years it is the exception, not the rule. §35(3) BNSS Notice of Appearance is the default. §47 BNSS mandates production before magistrate within 24 hours. §43 BNSS preserves the right to inform a relative. D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416 lays down 11 commandments every arresting officer must follow. Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 + Lalita Kumari v. State of UP (2014) 2 SCC 1 are the framework. This is the complete 2026 citizen-rights playbook.

1. 🛑 Stay calm. Don't run, don't resist physically. Verbal assertion of rights is your tool.
2. 🆔 Ask for the officer's name, rank, badge number, station. Photograph the badge. D.K. Basu commandment #1.
3. ❓ Ask “Am I detained or free to go?” Then “Under what offence + Section?” — Article 22(1).
4. 📞 Call family + lawyer immediately. Right under §43 BNSS.
5. 🚫 Refuse phone search without warrant unless arrested for a phone-linked offence — K.S. Puttaswamy (2017).
6. 📝 Don't sign blank papers / English-only forms / confessions. §22 BSA 2023 — confessions to police inadmissible.
7. 🏥 If arrested, demand 24-hour magistrate production + medical exam — Article 22(2) + §47/§53 BNSS.

• Police CAN: stop + question; arrest with warrant; arrest without warrant for cognizable offence subject to §35 BNSS conditions; search a place with warrant or on cognizable offence; record §161 BNSS statement (you may refuse to sign); detain for 24 hours max.
• Police CANNOT: arrest for a 7-year-or-less offence without recorded reasons (Arnesh Kumar); detain beyond 24 hours without magistrate; search your phone without warrant for non-digital offences; force a confession; refuse to inform your family of arrest; refuse to register FIR for cognizable offence (Lalita Kumari); arrest a woman before sunrise / after sunset except by woman officer with magistrate's permission (§43(5) BNSS).
• Your remedies: writ of habeas corpus (Article 32 / 226), NHRC / SHRC complaint, FIR against officer for abuse, civil compensation, departmental complaint via SP / DGP / Police Complaints Authority.
• Most useful immediate action: photograph badge, call family + lawyer, demand grounds in writing, refuse to sign blanks, demand magistrate production within 24 hours.

1. 🆔 Identify the officer — name, rank, badge, station. D.K. Basu commandment #1.
2. 📞 Family + lawyer — §43 BNSS guarantees this.
3. ❓ Magic question: “Am I detained or free to go?” Article 22(1).
4. 📝 Demand grounds in writing — D.K. Basu commandment #2 + §47 BNSS.
5. 🚫 Refuse to sign anything you have not read or understood — never blank papers.
6. 🤐 Right to silence — Article 20(3).
7. 📵 Refuse phone search without warrant unless arrested for a phone-linked offence.
8. 🏥 Demand medical examination at arrest — §53 BNSS.
9. 📨 Insist on arrest memo signed by witness — D.K. Basu commandment #3.
10. 🏛 24-hour magistrate production — Article 22(2) + §47 BNSS.
11. 📚 Carry pocket reference: BNSS §35, §43, §47, §53, §175(3); D.K. Basu (1997); Arnesh Kumar (2014); Lalita Kumari (2014).
12. 🚨 If torture / illegal detention — NHRC at nhrc.nic.in within 1 year + writ of habeas corpus at HC.

• Stop + question — short non-detention; you may decline to answer beyond identifying yourself.
• Arrest with warrant.
• Arrest without warrant for cognizable offence subject to §35 BNSS conditions.
• Search a place with warrant under §96-§102 BNSS.
• Search a person on arrest under §51 BNSS.
• Conduct medical exam under §53/§54 BNSS (woman: only by female practitioner).
• Record §161 BNSS statement — you may refuse to sign.
• Detain for 24 hours max (Article 22(2)).
• Seek narco / polygraph / brain-mapping — only with written consent under Selvi (2010).

• Arrest a woman — only female officer; not before sunrise / after sunset except with magistrate permission (§43(5) BNSS).
• Arrest a senior citizen / sick person — §35 BNSS special considerations.
• Search digital device — only for cyber/digital offence or with warrant.
• Take fingerprints / photographs — under Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.
• Use force — only necessary + proportionate under §38 BNSS.
• House search — must have two independent witnesses (§103 BNSS).

• Use third-degree / torture — D.K. Basu + Article 21. BNS §§120-122 criminalise.
• Force a confession — confessions to police inadmissible (§22 BSA 2023).
• Detain beyond 24 hours without magistrate (Article 22(2) + §47 BNSS).
• Refuse to inform your relative / lawyer (§43 BNSS).
• Refuse to register an FIR for cognizable offence (Lalita Kumari 2014; §173 BNSS).
• Search phone arbitrarily — K.S. Puttaswamy (2017).
• Demand bribes — Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 + BNS criminal liability.
• Conduct fake encounter — PUCL v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 16-point guidelines.
• Force narco / polygraph without written consent (Selvi 2010).

• Mumbai 2024 — youth politely refused phone search without warrant. Officer let him go. RTI confirmed no FIR, no record. Lesson: knowing the privacy rule prevents the search.
• Pune 2025 — woman arrested at 8:30 pm — §43(5) BNSS violated. Habeas corpus filed; release ordered same day; SI suspended.
• Hyderabad 2024 — citizen arrested for offence punishable up to 5 years; no §35 written justification. Arnesh Kumar invoked; arrest declared illegal; §35(3) BNSS notice issued instead.
• Delhi 2025 — police refused FIR for online cheating. RTI to SP + §175(3) BNSS magistrate complaint forced registration in 9 days.
• Chennai 2024 — citizen pressured to sign blank statement. Refused; asked for §161 BNSS statement (which is not to be signed). Officer recorded properly; case collapsed at trial because no signed confession existed.

• Article 14 — equality.
• Article 20(3) — right to silence; no compelled self-incrimination.
• Article 21 — life + personal liberty (Maneka Gandhi 1978).
• Article 22(1) — right to grounds of arrest + counsel.
• Article 22(2) — production before magistrate within 24 hours.
• Article 32 / 226 — writ jurisdiction; habeas corpus remedy.

• §35 — when police may arrest without warrant; recorded reasons for ≤7-year offences.
• §35(3) — Notice of Appearance (replaces CrPC §41A).
• §43 — police power to use necessary force; right to inform relative.
• §43(5) — woman-arrest sunset-sunrise rule.
• §47 — production before magistrate within 24 hours.
• §51 — search of arrested person.
• §53/§54 — medical examination.
• §96-§103 — search procedures + warrants.
• §103 — search must have two independent witnesses.
• §161 — examination of witnesses; statement need not be signed.
• §170 — interrogation; women not called outside police station.
• §173 — FIR registration mandatory for cognizable offence.
• §175(3) — magistrate complaint route when police refuse FIR.
• §176 — police investigation procedure.

• §120 — voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession (custodial torture).
• §121-§122 — voluntarily causing grievous hurt for the same.
• §198 — public servant disobeying law.
• §199 — false statement by public servant.
• §200 — fabricating evidence.

• §22 — confessions to police inadmissible.
• §23 — confession in custody only before magistrate.
• §24 — confessions before magistrate must be voluntary.

• D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416 — 11 commandments for arrest.
• Joginder Kumar v. State of UP (1994) 4 SCC 260 — arrest only when necessary.
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 — 7-year rule + §35(3) BNSS notice.
• Lalita Kumari v. State of UP (2014) 2 SCC 1 — FIR mandatory for cognizable offence.
• K.S. Puttaswamy v. UoI (2017) 10 SCC 1 — privacy as Article 21; extends to digital devices.
• Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010) 7 SCC 263 — narco / polygraph require written consent.
• PUCL v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 10 SCC 635 — fake-encounter 16-point guidelines.
• Maneka Gandhi v. UoI (1978) 1 SCC 248 — procedure must be just, fair, reasonable.
• State of Maharashtra v. Christian Community Welfare Council (2003) — woman-arrest rule.
• Sakiri Vasu v. State of UP (2008) 2 SCC 409 — magistrate's plenary powers.

• Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 — fingerprints, photos, biological samples.
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 — NHRC / SHRC powers.

Ask “Am I detained or free to go?” If free, walk away calmly. If detained, ask offence + Section. Note timestamps. You don't have to answer questions beyond identifying yourself.

§161 BNSS allows police to examine you. You may answer or remain silent (Article 20(3)). Statement is not to be signed. If pressured: “§161(2) does not require my signature; I exercise Article 20(3).”

Read everything before signing. Refuse blank pages or English-only docs in regional state. Sign with note “signed under protest” if pressured.

Ask: “Is this for an investigation? Do you have a warrant?” Without warrant, refuse politely citing K.S. Puttaswamy (2017). For cyber offences, police can search devices on arrest with §165 IT Act safeguards.

Demand: identification, arrest memo, grounds in writing, family/lawyer notification, medical exam. D.K. Basu + §43 BNSS + §53 BNSS.

Magistrate production mandatory under Article 22(2) + §47 BNSS. Travel time excluded but not other delays. If not produced, lawyer files habeas corpus at State HC (Article 226).

Request remand objection oral / written. PC up to 15 days; JC up to 60-90 days based on offence (§187 BNSS).

Three parallel routes:

1. NHRC / SHRC within 1 year — written + evidence.
2. State Police Complaints Authority under Prakash Singh (2006).
3. FIR against officer under BNS §§120-122, 198-200; if refused, §175(3) BNSS magistrate complaint.

For wrongful arrest / detention / torture, file civil writ at State HC. Awards typically ₹50,000-₹10,00,000. Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa (1993) 2 SCC 746 is foundational.

Universal helplines: 112 (single emergency), 100 (police), 1091 (women), 1098 (child), 14470 (SC/ST), 102 (medical).

To: [email protected]
Cc: sp-[district]@[state].gov.in; dgp-[state]@[state].gov.in
Subject: Complaint of police misconduct — incident dated [..] at [..] PS

Sir / Madam,

I, [Name], aged [..], R/o [..], submit:

1. On [date] at [time], officer [name / badge] of [PS] [arrested / stopped /
   searched / interrogated] me without [warrant / arrest memo / §35 BNSS
   justification / family notification / medical exam].

2. Specific violations:
   - §[..] BNSS [text of provision violated].
   - D.K. Basu (1997) commandment #[..] not followed.
   - [Article 22(1) / 22(2) / §43 BNSS / §47 BNSS] breached.

3. Evidence enclosed:
   - Photograph of officer (if any).
   - Arrest memo (or absence thereof).
   - Witness contact: [name + phone].
   - Medical record: [hospital + date].
   - Timestamps: [..].

4. Relief sought:
   - Inquiry under PHRA 1993 / state PCA.
   - Departmental action.
   - Compensation (Nilabati Behera framework).
   - Direction to PS to register FIR against the officer under BNS §§120-122
     / 198-200.

I file within 1 year per §36(2) PHRA.

Yours sincerely,
[Name + Phone + Email]

• Photo ID (Aadhaar / voter / driving licence).
• Photographs of incident (officer, badge, location, timestamped).
• Witness contacts.
• Medical record (if injury).
• Arrest memo (if arrested).
• Bail order (if released).
• Lawyer engagement letter.

• Resisting physically — creates new offences. Verbal assertion is the tool.
• Signing blank documents — never; even if pressured, write “signed under protest”.
• Confessing to police — inadmissible anyway under §22 BSA 2023.
• Letting phone search happen quietly — refuse without warrant.
• Not noting timestamps — every minute matters in writs.
• Not invoking D.K. Basu or Arnesh Kumar — most officers know the names.
• Settling without documentation — even if released, ask for written release note + GD entry copy.
• Forgetting NHRC's 1-year limitation.

No, not without warrant unless cyber-linked offence + arrest. Puttaswamy (2017) extends Article 21 privacy to digital devices.

No — Arnesh Kumar (2014) requires recorded reasons under §35 BNSS. §35(3) Notice of Appearance is the default for ≤7-year offences.

No, except by woman officer + magistrate permission (§43(5) BNSS).

Never — BNS §§120-122 + Article 21. Confessions to police inadmissible (§22 BSA 2023).

Yes, in part — Article 20(3). You must identify yourself but need not answer self-incriminating questions.

File magistrate complaint under §175(3) BNSS. Lalita Kumari (2014) makes registration mandatory for cognizable offences.

Yes, under Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022. Safeguards apply.

No — Selvi (2010). Forced narco unconstitutional.

Generally no. §96 BNSS. Exceptions: cognizable offence in progress, fresh pursuit. Two witnesses required (§103 BNSS).

Only with magistrate's order. Article 22(2) + §47 BNSS. Beyond, file habeas corpus.

Yes, in most states one-party recording is legal for self-defence.

Article 22(1) — yes. Many High Court orders extend to questioning.

Only female officer (§51 proviso BNSS).

For offences ≤7 years, instead of arrest, police issue notice asking you to appear.

Record evidence + complain to State Anti-Corruption Bureau. PCA 1988 criminal.

Investigation files retain §8(1)(h) RTI exemption during investigation. Post-chargesheet records become disclosable.

• Arrest — engage immediately; Article 22(1) right.
• Custodial torture / illegal detention — habeas corpus + civil writ.
• Sexual offences — specialised counsel mandatory.
• Cyber offences — IT Act + BNS combined.
• Bail (anticipatory or regular) — counsel essential.
• §35 BNSS Notice — counsel for appearance + bail.
• Pro bono: NALSA helpline 15100; District Legal Services Authority.

Yes — multiple routes:

1. NHRC / SHRC compensation under PHRA 1993 — typical ₹25,000-₹10,00,000.
2. Civil writ at HC under Article 226 — Nilabati Behera (1993). ₹50,000-₹50,00,000.
3. Civil suit for damages.
4. Criminal complaint against officer under BNS §§120-122, 198-200.
5. Departmental disciplinary outcome.

• 🪄 AI RTI Drafter — file RTI to SP / DGP for misconduct records.
• 🎤 AwaazRTI — speak in 11 Indian languages.
• ⚖️ First Appeal Builder.
• 🔮 Outcome Predictor.
• 📂 Sector RTI Toolkit.
• 🏛 Citizen 360.
• 🛡 FIR Status Tracker.

• Police Powers in India: Complete Guide
• RTI for FIR Status
• RTI for Arrest Records
• RTI for Bail Records
• RTI for Cybercrime Status
• Digital Arrest Scam Rescue
• Scammed on UPI Recovery
• RTI for Untraced / Closure Report
• RTI Grounds for Rejection
• How to file an RTI online

• BNSS, 2023 — legislative.gov.in
• BNS, 2023 — legislative.gov.in
• BSA, 2023 — legislative.gov.in
• Constitution of India — Articles 14, 20, 21, 22, 32, 226 — india.gov.in
• NHRC — nhrc.nic.in
• D.K. Basu, Arnesh Kumar, Lalita Kumari, Selvi, K.S. Puttaswamy — main.sci.gov.in
• NALSA — 15100

Police powers are bounded by the Constitution, BNSS 2023, and a long line of Supreme Court judgments. Citizens who know these rights walk into police interactions with three powerful tools: identifying the officer, asking “detained or free to go?”, and refusing to sign / search / confess without proper procedure. If misconduct happens, NHRC + writ + criminal complaint + civil compensation are all open. The system works when you know the rules and document everything.

1. Constitution of India — Articles 14, 20(3), 21, 22(1), 22(2), 32, 226.
2. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — §§35, 35(3), 43, 43(5), 47, 51, 53, 54, 96-103, 161, 170, 173, 174, 175(3), 176, 187, 193.
3. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — §§120-122, 198-200.
4. Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — §§22, 23, 24.
5. Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.
6. Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
7. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
8. Right to Information Act, 2005.
9. DPDP Rules, 2025.
10. D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416.
11. Joginder Kumar v. State of UP (1994) 4 SCC 260.
12. Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273.
13. Lalita Kumari v. State of UP (2014) 2 SCC 1.
14. K.S. Puttaswamy v. UoI (2017) 10 SCC 1.
15. Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010) 7 SCC 263.
16. PUCL v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 10 SCC 635.
17. Maneka Gandhi v. UoI (1978) 1 SCC 248.
18. Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa (1993) 2 SCC 746.
19. State of Maharashtra v. Christian Community Welfare Council (2003).
20. Sakiri Vasu v. State of UP (2008) 2 SCC 409.

Last reviewed: 6 May 2026.