Someone in your family has been taken by the police. You are frightened, you don't know where he is, and everyone around you is giving different advice. This guide walks you through what happens next — hour by hour, court by court — under the law as it stands today.
Three things before anything else:
- He cannot simply disappear. The police must tell you where he is held, and must produce him before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. This is a constitutional right, not a favour.
- Write everything down, starting now. Time of pickup, police station name, names on uniforms, what was said. A small note made tonight can matter months later.
- Do not sign anything, pay anyone at the gate, or accept "settlement" offers from touts. The corridor outside every lock-up has people selling shortcuts. There are no shortcuts, only procedure — and procedure is on your side more than you think.
Step 1 — Confirm the arrest and the police station
The person arrested has the right to have a relative or friend informed of the arrest and the place of custody (BNSS s.48; earlier CrPC 50A). If you learned of the pickup informally, call or visit the police station of the area where the incident is alleged. Ask for:
- Whether he is formally arrested or only called for questioning (a written notice of appearance — formerly a "41A notice", now under BNSS — is not an arrest).
- The FIR number and sections applied. You are entitled to know the grounds of arrest; recent Supreme Court rulings require grounds to be furnished meaningfully, and in certain statutes in writing (Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2023)).
- A copy of the FIR — FIRs are public documents (barring sensitive categories) and are uploaded to the Delhi Police website; save a copy.
Step 2 — Understand which kind of offence it is
Everything branches on this:
- Bailable offence: bail is a right. The police themselves must release him on bail at the station on furnishing a bond (BNSS s.478; earlier CrPC 436). If they don't, the magistrate will, at first production.
- Non-bailable offence: bail is not automatic — it is granted by a court weighing the case. This is where a lawyer earns his fee, and where the rest of this guide matters.
The sections on the FIR tell you which side you're on. Don't guess from the drama of the arrest — read the sections.
Step 3 — The first 24 hours
Covered in detail in the companion guide (What happens in the first 24 hours after arrest), but the skeleton:
- Arrest memo prepared, attested by a witness — a family member or respectable person of the locality (BNSS s.43 / D.K. Basu requirements).
- Medical examination of the arrested person (BNSS ss.51–53).
- He cannot be beaten, kept in unrecorded custody, or denied a meeting with his lawyer. He has the right to meet an advocate during interrogation, though not throughout (BNSS s.38).
- Production before the jurisdictional magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, excluding journey time (BNSS s.58; Article 22(2), Constitution).
Which court he is produced in depends on which police station holds the case — Delhi's eleven court districts feed six complexes (Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini, Saket, Dwarka, Patiala House) — use police station → court lookup tool to find the court complex for any Delhi police station.
Step 4 — The production hearing (remand)
This 10-minute hearing is the family's first real chance to act. The magistrate decides whether he goes to police custody (further interrogation), judicial custody (jail), or is released. Have a lawyer present — the duty of the court to provide legal aid applies if you cannot afford one; ask for the legal aid counsel (DLSA) at the court itself. It is free, it is your right, and it is far better than an unrepresented remand.
Police custody has strict outer limits counted from first remand (BNSS s.187 structure).
Step 5 — The bail routes
- Station bail / magistrate bail (bailable offences): a right; bond and, sometimes, surety.
- Regular bail (non-bailable): application before the magistrate or sessions court after arrest (BNSS ss.480, 483; earlier CrPC 437, 439).
- Anticipatory bail: applied before arrest, when a person apprehends it (BNSS s.482; earlier CrPC 438) — sessions court or High Court.
- Interim bail: short-term release while the main bail application is pending.
- Default bail: if the police fail to file the chargesheet within the statutory period (60 or 90 days depending on the offence), release on bail becomes an indefeasible right (BNSS s.187(3); earlier CrPC 167(2)). Families lose this by not counting the days. Count the days.
What courts weigh when deciding bail — the seriousness of the allegation, risk of flight, risk of tampering with evidence or witnesses, criminal antecedents, and the principle that bail is the rule and jail the exception — is covered with the current judgments in the companion piece (Grounds for bail: what courts actually consider now).
Step 6 — Sureties and bonds
Most bail orders require a personal bond and one or two sureties — people who guarantee his appearance, usually with proof of identity, residence, and means (property papers, bank statements, salary slips). Prepare these documents while the bail application is pending, not after the order — a granted bail can sit unexecuted for days because the family arrived without surety papers. The companion guide (Sureties in Delhi courts) lists exactly what to carry, court complex by court complex.
Step 7 — If he stays in judicial custody
Delhi's jails: Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli complexes. Mulaqat (family visit) rules, money deposit for canteen, and clothing rules are administered per jail. An undertrial who has served a substantial part of the maximum sentence has statutory release protections (BNSS s.479, including the first-time-offender one-third provision and its retrospective application per Supreme Court orders).
What the family should do tonight — the checklist
- Note the police station, FIR number, sections.
- Inform a lawyer — or at production, ask the magistrate for DLSA legal-aid counsel.
- Gather: his ID proof, your ID proofs, two potential sureties with documents.
- Save the FIR copy.
- Count 60/90 days from first remand in a diary.
- Do not discuss the case on the phone with him during mulaqat beyond essentials.
- Do not pay anyone who "knows the judge."
Someone in your family has been arrested?
The first 24 hours follow a strict legal clock — production, remand, bail. Get clear guidance before the production hearing.