Frequently asked questions

You can call or send a WhatsApp message on 8447953090, or write to ashutoshhansadv@gmail.com, with a short outline of your matter. A meeting can then be fixed at the chamber in Gurugram (District & Sessions Courts) or Delhi (Tis Hazari Courts).

Office hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, by appointment. In urgent matters such as an arrest or a fear of arrest, call directly rather than waiting for a reply to an email.

Bring whatever relates to the dispute: a copy of the FIR, complaint or police notice; any court summons or order; agreements, receipts, bank statements, cheques or legal notices; and screenshots of relevant messages, emails or transactions. Also bring an identity proof.

If you are not sure whether something is relevant, bring it. It is easier to set a document aside than to discover later that it was missing.

Yes. Communications between you and your advocate made in the course of professional engagement are protected by law under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (formerly Section 126 of the Indian Evidence Act). Your advocate cannot disclose them without your consent, subject to the narrow exceptions the law provides.

Note that information sent through the website's contact form, before an engagement is agreed, may not be treated as confidential. Share full details at the meeting.

Yes. Anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), formerly Section 438 CrPC, can be sought by anyone who has a reasonable belief that they may be arrested for a non-bailable offence. An FIR does not have to be registered yet, but the apprehension must rest on concrete facts, such as a complaint filed against you or a call from the police, not a vague fear.

The application can be made before the Sessions Court or the High Court. The court may grant interim protection until it decides the application, usually with conditions such as joining the investigation when required.

Not necessarily. For offences punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years, the police are generally required to issue a notice to appear under Section 35(3) of the BNSS (formerly Section 41A CrPC) instead of arresting straight away. If you comply with the notice and cooperate with the investigation, the law says you should not be arrested unless the police record reasons why arrest has become necessary.

Do not ignore the notice. Take legal advice before you appear, keep a copy of the notice, and consider whether an anticipatory bail application is needed.

Stay calm and do not resist. The law gives every arrested person clear rights under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):

1. To be told the grounds of arrest, and whether the offence is bailable (Section 47).
2. To have a relative or friend informed of the arrest and the place of custody (Section 48).
3. To an arrest memo, attested by a witness such as a family member, recording the date and time of arrest (Section 36).
4. To meet an advocate of choice during interrogation, though not necessarily throughout it (Section 38).
5. To be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours (Section 58).

A woman should ordinarily not be arrested after sunset or before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances with the prior permission of a Magistrate (Section 43(5)).

Do not sign blank or unread papers. Note the police station, the names of the officers and the FIR number, and contact an advocate at once, so that a bail application can be prepared without delay.

It depends on why you are called. If you receive a notice to appear as a person against whom there is a complaint (Section 35(3) BNSS), you are expected to comply, and failing to do so can lead to arrest.

If you are called as a witness (Section 179 BNSS, formerly Section 160 CrPC), certain people cannot be required to attend a police station and must be questioned at their residence instead. These include women, males under 15 or above 60 years of age, and persons who are mentally or physically disabled or acutely ill.

Always ask for the notice in writing, keep a copy, and take advice before you go.

Yes. An arrested person must be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours, and this rule applies on holidays and weekends too. Courts keep duty Magistrates for this purpose, and an application for bail can be moved at that production.

For anticipatory bail or other urgent protection, Sessions Courts and High Courts have arrangements for urgent hearings, including vacation benches and urgent mentioning. Whether a matter is taken up out of turn depends on its urgency, so keep the FIR, any police notice and identity documents ready.

The High Court has power under Section 528 of the BNSS (formerly Section 482 CrPC) to quash an FIR or criminal proceedings to prevent abuse of the process of law. This is done, for example, where the FIR does not disclose any offence even if taken at face value, where a purely civil dispute has been given a criminal colour, or, in certain cases, where the parties have settled.

Quashing is discretionary and depends heavily on the facts. In many cases anticipatory bail is sought first, and quashing is pursued alongside or afterwards.

If the police station refuses to register an FIR for a cognizable offence, you can send the substance of your complaint in writing to the Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police under Section 173(4) of the BNSS. You can also file an FIR at any police station regardless of where the offence happened (a "Zero FIR"), and in some cases register it electronically.

If that does not work, you can apply to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) of the BNSS (formerly Section 156(3) CrPC) for a direction to the police to register the FIR and investigate. Keep copies and proof of delivery of every complaint you send.

Act immediately. Call the national cyber crime helpline 1930, or report the fraud at cybercrime.gov.in, as soon as possible. Early reporting allows the money to be traced and put on hold in the receiving accounts before it is withdrawn. Inform your bank at the same time and ask them to block the card or account involved.

Keep screenshots of messages, transaction IDs, the fraudster's numbers and account details, and the acknowledgement number of your complaint. A written complaint to the cyber police and, later, applications before the court may be needed to get the held money released to you.

Accounts are usually frozen on the request of a cyber cell because money reported in an online fraud complaint, sometimes only a small amount, was credited to that account, often after passing through several others. The account holder may have done nothing wrong.

First find out from the bank which police station or cyber cell requested the freeze and the complaint number. Then, depending on the facts, you can write to the investigating officer with proof of the legitimate source of the money, and if needed apply to the competent court for release of the account or for the freeze to be limited to the disputed amount. Courts have repeatedly held that freezing an entire account for a small disputed sum can be disproportionate.

Failing to repay money or breaking a promise is, by itself, a civil matter. It becomes the offence of cheating if the person had a dishonest intention from the very beginning, at the time they took the money or made the promise. Criminal breach of trust arises where property or money entrusted to someone is dishonestly misappropriated or used against the terms of the trust.

Courts look closely at this distinction, and criminal cases filed only to pressure someone into paying a civil debt can be quashed. Each side should take advice early, because the choice between a civil suit, a criminal complaint, or both affects strategy and timelines.

Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the timeline is strict:

1. The cheque must have been presented within its validity period, usually three months from its date.
2. A written legal notice demanding payment must be sent to the drawer within 30 days of receiving the bank's return memo.
3. The drawer then has 15 days from receiving the notice to pay.
4. If payment is not made, the complaint must be filed in court within one month after that 15-day period ends.

Missing these limits can weaken or defeat the case, although the court may condone a delay in filing the complaint if sufficient cause is shown. If you have received such a notice, take advice within the 15 days.

Yes. Under Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, offences under the Act, including cheque dishonour under Section 138, are compoundable. This means the parties can settle the case at any stage, usually by payment of the agreed amount, with the settlement recorded before the court.

Settling early is generally simpler and less costly. If you have received a legal notice or a court summons in a cheque bounce matter, take advice promptly on whether settlement or a defence is the better course.

In urgent cases a civil court can pass an ex-parte interim injunction under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, sometimes on the day the suit is filed, if delay would defeat the purpose. To get it, you generally need to show a prima facie case, that the balance of convenience is in your favour, and that you would suffer irreparable harm without the order.

Documents showing your title or possession, photographs of the construction, and evidence of the threatened sale make a big difference. Delay in approaching the court can count against you, so act as soon as the threat becomes real.

Yes. Under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, you can approach the court for interim measures, such as protecting assets or preserving the subject matter of the dispute, before arbitration begins, during it, or after the award (before it is enforced). If you go to court before the arbitration starts, the arbitral proceedings generally need to be commenced within 90 days of the court's order.

Once an arbitral tribunal is in place, interim relief is normally sought from the tribunal itself under Section 17. An award can be challenged under Section 34 within three months of receiving it, extendable by a further 30 days only for sufficient cause.

The District & Sessions Courts, Gurugram; courts across Delhi NCR, including Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi; the Punjab and Haryana High Court; and the Delhi High Court.