Criminal Lawyer in Ghaziabad

If the police have called you or registered an FIR

Read the FIR before you say anything

The Supreme Court directed in Youth Bar Association v. Union of India (2016) that FIRs go online within 24 hours of registration, and in Uttar Pradesh you can usually download yours from the UP Police citizen portal or the UPCOP app. FIRs in sexual offences and a few other sensitive categories aren't put online; for those, the copy comes through the court.

A Section 35(3) notice is not an arrest

Where the offence carries seven years or less, the police generally have to send a notice of appearance under Section 35(3) BNSS instead of arresting you. This is the rule the Supreme Court laid down in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014). Appear on the date, keep a copy of anything you sign, and keep proof that you went; as long as you comply, the police need recorded reasons to arrest you.

A phone call asking you to "come for inquiry" isn't a notice. Ask for it in writing.

Your rights at the police station

• You can refuse to answer questions that incriminate you (Article 20(3) of the Constitution).
• You can meet your advocate during interrogation, though not for the whole of it (Section 38 BNSS).
• If arrested, you must be told the grounds of arrest, and the police must inform a relative or friend you name (Sections 47 and 48 BNSS).
• You must be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, travel time excluded (Section 58 BNSS).

Bail in Ghaziabad: which court, in what order

For a bailable offence, bail is a right; the police station or the Magistrate releases you on a bond under Section 478 BNSS. Non-bailable offences go up a ladder. The application is first made before the Magistrate's court at RDC under Section 480 BNSS. If the Magistrate refuses, it goes to the Sessions Court, Ghaziabad under Section 483, and after that to the Allahabad High Court. In offences punishable with death or life imprisonment the Magistrate's power is narrow, so those applications usually start at the Sessions Court.

Anticipatory bail

If you expect to be arrested in a non-bailable case, you can apply for anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS (the old Section 438 CrPC) before the Sessions Court, Ghaziabad or the Allahabad High Court. The court can grant interim protection while it hears the application. There's a longer explanation on the bail in Ghaziabad page, and the bail meter walks through the factors courts weigh.

Default bail when the charge sheet is late

If the police don't file the charge sheet within 60 days, or 90 days for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or ten years or more, the accused in custody is entitled to bail under Section 187(3) BNSS. The application has to be made before the charge sheet is filed; once it's filed, that right is gone.

What to arrange on day one

Sureties, usually two, each with an ID card and proof of property or income. The court may order the sureties verified, and that takes time, so collect the papers while the bail application is being drafted rather than after it's granted.

Getting an FIR quashed

A false case, or a money dispute dressed up as cheating, can be quashed by the Allahabad High Court under Section 528 BNSS (the old Section 482 CrPC). The High Court follows the categories in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992): an FIR that discloses no offence even if every word of it is true, allegations so absurd that no prudent person would believe them, and cases filed to settle a private score.

Matrimonial and commercial cases that the parties have settled can also be quashed on compromise under Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012). That route isn't available for serious offences such as rape or murder.

Old law or new law?

If your FIR was registered before 1 July 2024, the case continues under the CrPC and IPC (Section 531 BNSS). From that date the BNSS, the BNS and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam apply. The section numbers changed, which is why people reading their own FIR often can't match it to what they find online:

• Cheating: Section 420 IPC is now Section 318(4) BNS
• Criminal breach of trust: 406 IPC is now 316(2) BNS
• Cruelty by husband or relatives: 498A IPC is now 85 BNS
• Hurt: 323 IPC is now 115(2) BNS
• Criminal intimidation: 506 IPC is now 351(2) and 351(3) BNS
• Anticipatory bail: 438 CrPC is now 482 BNSS, and quashing under 482 CrPC is now 528 BNSS

Criminal work this chamber takes

Bail and anticipatory bail; 498A, dowry and domestic violence cases, for either side; cheque bounce complaints under Section 138 NI Act; cyber fraud cases and frozen bank accounts; FIR quashing at the Allahabad High Court; and trial defence at the Sessions Court, Ghaziabad and the courts at Surajpur, Noida.

Questions people ask