SC: Notice under BNSS Section 35(3) mandatory, arrest exception for offences of up to seven years imprisonment

New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- The Supreme Court has held that service of notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, is mandatory in cases where the accused is alleged to have committed an offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, and that arrest in such cases is only an exception.

A Bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh clarified that no arrest can be made for offences punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years unless the mandatory requirement of issuing a notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS is complied with.

The Court was examining the issue as to whether notices under Section 35(3) of the BNSS are required to be mandatorily issued in all cases invo...