# Legal notice, police notice, or summons: how to tell them apart **TL;DR:** Not every scary paper or message is the same thing, and the response each one demands is completely different. An advocate's legal notice has no legal compulsion behind it, but replying protects you. A police notice under BNSS Section 35(3) or a court summons is compulsory, and ignoring it escalates. A Section 138 cheque bounce notice has hard deadlines that are genuinely fatal if missed. A WhatsApp message from a "recovery agent" threatening arrest is usually not a legal instrument at all. Work through the checklist below before you panic or pay anyone anything. --- ## On this page - [Why this is confusing on purpose](#why-this-is-confusing-on-purpose) - [The five second sniff test](#the-five-second-sniff-test) - [An advocate's legal notice](#an-advocates-legal-notice) - [A police notice to appear, bnss section 35(3)](#a-police-notice-to-appear-bnss-section-353) - [A police summons to produce a document](#a-police-summons-to-produce-a-document) - [A court summons, criminal versus civil](#a-court-summons-criminal-versus-civil) - [A section 138 cheque bounce notice](#a-section-138-cheque-bounce-notice) - [Tribunal and regulator notices](#tribunal-and-regulator-notices) - [A recovery agent or loan app whatsapp threat](#a-recovery-agent-or-loan-app-whatsapp-threat) - [The obvious frauds](#the-obvious-frauds) - [Master comparison table](#master-comparison-table) - [What to actually do in the first hour](#what-to-actually-do-in-the-first-hour) - [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions) --- ## Why this is confusing on purpose Every one of these instruments is designed to make you feel like you have to act right now. A real court summons is meant to compel your appearance. A fake "digital arrest" call is meant to make you feel exactly the same urgency, on purpose, so you cannot think straight. The difference between real and fake, and between compulsory and optional, comes down to three questions. Who issued it. What power do they actually have over you. What happens, precisely, if you do nothing. This guide walks through each instrument you are likely to receive as an ordinary person in India: an advocate's letter, a police notice, a police summons for documents, a court summons in a criminal or civil case, a cheque bounce notice, a tax or regulator notice, a recovery agent's message, and the outright scams. For each one you get four answers. Is it real. What is the deadline. Do you have to respond. What happens if you ignore it. ## The five second sniff test Before you read the whole thing, check these three things. A genuine legal document names a specific law, a specific case or complaint number, and a specific authority you can independently verify (a court, a police station, a government department). It does not ask you to stay on a video call while you arrange a bank transfer. It does not threaten immediate arrest over the phone. No Indian court or police officer conducts an arrest over a video call, and no officer will ask you to pay a fine directly to a personal or unknown UPI ID to avoid arrest. If the message came through WhatsApp, and it threatens arrest, and it wants money moved fast, treat it as a scam until proven otherwise. Real notices come through registered post, a police station, e-Courts, or an official government portal, not a random number that calls itself "Cyber Crime Cell." If you are dealing with an actual criminal matter and want to check whether a judgment or precedent someone is citing at you is even [still good law](/blog/good-law-checking), that is a separate, calmer question you can answer later. Do not let anyone rush you into a decision about money on the strength of a citation you cannot check in the moment. Notices also get missed for a mundane reason that has nothing to do with fraud: your phone was lost or swapped and the OTP or callback that would have flagged the notice never reached you. That has its own recovery ladder, covered in [locked out of your digital identity after losing your phone](/blog/locked-out-digital-identity-lost-device). ## An advocate's legal notice This is a private letter. An advocate drafts and sends it on behalf of a client who believes you owe them something, wronged them, or need to stop doing something. It is governed by no specific statute requiring your reply. It is a pre-litigation courtesy, and often a genuine attempt to resolve a dispute without going to court. **Is it real.** Check the letterhead, the advocate's enrollment details, and whether the facts match something that actually happened between you and the sender. A notice that is vague about dates, amounts, or events is weaker than it looks. **What is the deadline.** Most legal notices give you 15 to 30 days to respond or comply. That window is set by the sender, not by law. There is no statute that says you must reply within X days. **Do you have to respond.** No. There is no legal compulsion to reply to a legal notice. But silence is not neutral. If the matter goes to court later, your failure to respond can be pointed to as evidence you had no defense, or as evidence of your state of mind. A calm, factual reply, even a short one, protects your position and can end the dispute before it becomes a case. **What happens if you ignore it.** Usually nothing happens immediately. The sender's next move, if they mean it, is to file a suit or a complaint. Many legal notices are sent and never followed up, because litigation is expensive and slow. But do not assume that. If the underlying claim has real substance (unpaid dues, a genuine breach of contract, a matrimonial dispute), expect the sender to act. **Who to call.** Your own advocate, to draft a considered reply. See [how a legal notice should be drafted](/blog/how-to-draft-legal-notice) and, more usefully for you right now, [how to reply to a legal notice in India](/blog/reply-to-legal-notice-india). A good reply admits what is true, disputes what is not, and closes with your position, not an apology for existing. ## A police notice to appear, bnss section 35(3) This is where people confuse a private legal notice with something the state can enforce, and the confusion is understandable because both arrive as a letter. A notice of appearance from the police is issued under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), the successor to Section 41A of the old Code of Criminal Procedure. It applies to offences punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years. Instead of arresting you outright, the officer is required to first issue this notice directing you to appear at a stated place and time in connection with an investigation. **Is it real.** It should come from an identifiable police station, name the FIR or complaint number, cite the offence, and be signed by an investigating officer you can call and verify. The Supreme Court has held that electronic service of this notice by itself is not valid compliance, service has to follow the prescribed mode, so a notice that only ever arrived as a WhatsApp forward with no station letterhead is worth questioning. **What is the deadline.** The notice states the date and time you must appear. There is no fixed statutory number of days, it depends on the investigation. **Do you have to respond.** Yes, this is compulsory. Unlike an advocate's letter, this is a state power backed by the threat of arrest for non-compliance. If you comply with the notice and cooperate, the law says you ordinarily should not be arrested for that offence unless the officer records specific reasons for arrest in writing. **What happens if you ignore it.** Non-appearance without a reasonable justification is itself grounds the officer can use to seek your arrest, and, in appropriate cases, courts can be moved for a warrant. Ignoring a Section 35(3) notice is the single most self-defeating move on this whole list, because the entire point of the notice was to give you a chance to avoid arrest. If you are the one who reported a cyber fraud and this notice is calling you in as a witness rather than a suspect, that is a different situation with its own procedure, covered in [cyber fraud complainant summoned as witness](/blog/cyber-fraud-complainant-summoned-as-witness). **The Arnesh Kumar safeguards.** In *Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar* (2014), the Supreme Court held that for offences carrying a maximum sentence of up to seven years, arrest should be the exception, not the rule. Police officers must record reasons in writing if they arrest instead of issuing a notice, and magistrates must independently satisfy themselves that the arrest was necessary before authorising further detention. These guidelines were framed around Section 498A of the old IPC (cruelty to a married woman) but the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed that they apply to every offence in that punishment bracket, not just matrimonial cases. **Who to call.** A criminal lawyer immediately, before your appearance date, not after. Understand whether the offence is [bailable or non-bailable](/blog/bailable-vs-non-bailable) and [cognizable or non-cognizable](/blog/cognizable-vs-non-cognizable), because that changes what the police can actually do to you at the appearance. If arrest looks likely despite cooperation, your lawyer may advise applying for [anticipatory bail](/blog/anticipatory-bail-bnss-section-482) before you show up, not after. ## A police summons to produce a document Separately from a notice of appearance, police investigating a case can issue a written order requiring a person to produce a specific document or thing in their possession, when it is necessary for the investigation. Under the old CrPC this power sat in Section 91. The BNSS restates the same power for summons to produce documents and things within its chapter on processes to compel production, so treat the underlying rule as unchanged even where you should not rely on a specific new section number without checking the current text. **Is it real.** It should describe the specific document or thing wanted, why it is needed for a specific investigation, and where and when to produce it. A vague demand for "all your phone data" or "your bank statements for the last five years" with no case reference is not how this power is meant to be used. **What is the deadline.** Set out in the notice itself. There is no default statutory number. **Do you have to respond.** Yes, for a genuinely described document connected to an actual investigation. But the power is limited to production, not to compelling you to create a confession or hand over your own person to answer questions beyond producing the named item. It also does not override your right against self-incrimination for material that would incriminate you personally, which is a separate constitutional protection under Article 20(3), not something the police can waive by asking nicely. **What happens if you ignore it.** Non-production without lawful excuse can attract action for the offence of disobeying a lawful order, and can affect how the investigation is framed against you. It is not something to simply not answer. **Who to call.** A lawyer before you hand over anything, especially digital devices or financial records, to confirm the request is properly scoped and that copies, not originals, are being taken where the law allows it. ## A court summons, criminal versus civil Once a case is actually before a court, whether a magistrate has taken cognizance of a criminal complaint or a civil suit has been filed against you, the court itself issues a summons. This is a different animal from a police notice: it is a judicial order, and the consequences of ignoring it escalate through defined stages. ### Criminal court summons If a magistrate has taken cognizance of an offence and summoned you as an accused, appearance is compulsory on the date fixed. Courts follow a progressive escalation when a summoned person does not show up: first a further summons, then a bailable warrant, and only if that too is disregarded, a non-bailable warrant. The Supreme Court has repeatedly cautioned magistrates against issuing non-bailable warrants mechanically, they are meant to be the last resort after milder coercive steps have failed, not a first move against someone who missed one date. A bailable warrant means you can secure release by furnishing bail at the point of arrest, as a matter of right. A non-bailable warrant means the arresting authority is not obliged to release you, and bail becomes a matter for the court's discretion. Do not let a case escalate through this ladder if you can help it. Even one missed date, followed promptly by your lawyer explaining the reason and seeking a fresh date, usually avoids the bailable warrant stage entirely. ### Civil suit summons If you have been sued (a money recovery suit, a property dispute, a matrimonial proceeding), the court issues summons under Order 5 of the [Code of Civil Procedure](/blog/cpc-civil-procedure-basics), directing you to appear and answer the claim, ordinarily within 30 days of service. If normal service fails (you cannot be found, you refuse to accept it), the court can order substituted service, including affixing the summons at your last known residence or publishing it in a newspaper. If you do not appear and the court is satisfied service was proper, it can proceed to hear the matter and pass judgment against you without your side of the story, an ex parte decree. Courts are not meant to do this within 30 days of service, but once that window closes and you still have not shown up, an ex parte decree is a real and common outcome, not a bluff. If it happens because you never actually received the summons, you can apply to have it set aside under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC, but that is a harder fight than simply filing your [written statement](/blog/written-statement-limitation-cpc) on time. **Who to call.** A litigation lawyer as soon as you are served, in either kind of matter. For criminal summons, understand whether you should be seeking [bail](/blog/how-bail-works-sensational-cases) preemptively. For civil summons, do not skip the appearance date on the assumption that "it's just a formality," because that assumption is exactly how ex parte decrees happen. ## A section 138 cheque bounce notice This is the instrument on this list with the least room for error. A demand notice under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is sent after a cheque you issued has bounced, typically for insufficient funds. Unlike an ordinary legal notice, this one sits inside a strict statutory clock, and missing any part of it can be fatal to the sender's case, or to your own defence timing if you are the one who bounced the cheque. The sequence: the payee has 30 days from the date they receive the bank's cheque return memo to send you the demand notice. Once you receive that notice, you have 15 days to pay the full amount. If you do not pay within that 15 day window, the payee then has one month to file a criminal complaint in the magistrate's court. **Is it real.** It should specify the cheque number, date, amount, the bank, the reason for dishonour as stated in the return memo, and a specific 15 day demand. A notice with none of these particulars, or referring to a cheque you never issued, is worth challenging on its face. **What is the deadline.** 15 days from receipt of the notice to pay. This is the deadline that is actually fatal, both to the sender if they miss the 30 day window to send it, and to you if you let the 15 days pass without paying or responding. **Do you have to respond.** You do not have to pay if you dispute the debt, but you should respond in writing within the 15 days stating your position, whether that is a factual dispute, a stop payment for a legitimate reason, or a defence that the cheque was not issued for a legally enforceable debt. **What happens if you ignore it.** If you neither pay nor dispute within 15 days, the payee can file a criminal complaint under Section 138. The offence carries imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine that can go up to twice the cheque amount, or both. This is a real criminal case with a real magistrate's court summons at the end of it, not a formality. **Who to call.** A lawyer within the 15 day window, not after. See [cheque bounce and Section 138 of the NI Act explained in full](/blog/cheque-bounce-section-138-ni-act) for the defences that actually work and the ones that do not. ## Tribunal and regulator notices Not every serious notice comes from a court or the police. Statutory authorities and tribunals issue their own notices, each with its own clock. **Income tax notices**, issued through the e-filing portal under various sections of the Income Tax Act, typically give you 15 to 30 days to respond, stated on the notice itself. Reply through the portal under "Pending Actions" rather than by letter. Ignoring an income tax notice does not make it disappear, it converts a query into a best-judgment assessment against you. **GST notices** under the CGST Act, 2017 name the specific form and section, and deadlines vary by notice type: a scrutiny notice in form ASMT-11 typically gives 30 days, extendable at the officer's discretion, while a registration-related show cause notice can give as little as 7 working days. Read the form number on your notice carefully, the deadline is form-specific, not uniform. **Consumer forum notices**, once a complaint is admitted under the [Consumer Protection Act, 2019](/blog/consumer-protection-act-2019), require you to file a written response, generally within 30 days, extendable by the forum. If you run an e-commerce or online business, complaints can also arrive through the [e-Daakhil portal](/blog/file-consumer-complaint-edaakhil), and non-response there similarly leads to an ex parte order against you. **RERA notices**, issued by the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority in a complaint by a homebuyer, require a written reply within the timeline set in the notice. See [RERA and homebuyer rights](/blog/rera-act-homebuyers) for what typically triggers these. Across all of these, the pattern is the same as with a court: the deadline is real, it is stated on the notice, and it is shorter than you think. None of these bodies conduct arrests, so if a message claiming to be from the "income tax department" or "GST department" threatens arrest over a call, that is not how these authorities operate and you should treat it as suspect. A few notices you receive will not come from a court, the police, or a statutory regulator at all, and they need their own read. A bank letter saying your account has been frozen or debited because of an NCRP fraud lien is neither a court order nor optional, and [bank account frozen by a cyber fraud lien](/blog/bank-account-frozen-cyber-fraud-lien) covers the release ladder for that specific letter. A notice pinned up by your RWA restricting gate hours or access is backed by society bylaws rather than any statute, and [gate lockouts and night curfews from your RWA](/blog/society-night-gate-lockout-tenant-rights) covers what a resident can actually do about it. A municipal notice declaring your rented building unsafe or dangerous carries its own compliance clock, separate from anything your landlord tells you, and [remedies when your rented house is unsafe](/blog/unsafe-rented-house-tenant-remedies) covers what that notice means for your tenancy. And a takedown notice or platform warning tied to being doxxed or named online runs on a removal clock and a moderator liability question of its own, covered in [doxxing, accused persons, and moderator liability](/blog/doxxing-accused-person-moderator-liability). ## A recovery agent or loan app whatsapp threat This is the category most people confuse with an actual legal notice, and it is usually not a legal instrument at all. If you have taken a loan, from a bank, an NBFC, or a lending app, and fallen behind on payments, the lender is entitled to recover the debt. But the method matters. The Reserve Bank of India's Fair Practices Code and its Recovery Agent conduct rules bind every bank and NBFC, and by extension the agents acting on their behalf. Agents may contact you only between 8 am and 7 pm. They cannot use abusive language, threaten you, contact your employer or relatives about the debt, or circulate your photograph or personal details, and doing so is a breach the lender is directly responsible for, not something you have to tolerate as normal collection behaviour. **Is it real.** A genuine recovery communication will identify the actual lender, the loan account number, and the outstanding amount, and it will not threaten arrest or "police action" over a private civil debt, because non-repayment of a loan is not, by itself, a criminal offence. A message that threatens to send police to your house, or to have you "digitally arrested," over an unpaid personal loan is not describing any real legal power. **What is the deadline.** Whatever the loan agreement says for repayment. There is no separate statutory clock triggered by a WhatsApp message. **Do you have to respond.** You should engage with the actual lender about a genuine debt, ideally in writing, and you can negotiate a repayment plan. You do not have to engage with, or send money to, an anonymous number that will not identify the loan or the lender by name. **What happens if you ignore it.** A genuine debt does not go away, and a lender can eventually sue for recovery. But an anonymous threatening message with no verifiable loan details is not going to escalate into an actual case, because there is nothing behind it to escalate. **Who to call.** If an agent is harassing you outside RBI's conduct rules, record everything and complain in writing to the lender's grievance officer first. If unresolved within 30 days, escalate free of charge to the RBI's Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in (rbi.org.in, reviewed 19 August 2026). If the loan app itself is unregistered, or the harassment includes morphed images or blackmail, that is a cybercrime, reportable at cybercrime.gov.in or the helpline 1930 (cybercrime.gov.in, reviewed 19 August 2026). See the full process for filing a [cyber crime complaint in India](/blog/cyber-crime-complaint-india). ## The obvious frauds Some of what lands in your inbox or on a call is not a real instrument dressed up confusingly. It is theft, engineered to look official. **The "digital arrest" scam.** A caller claims to be from the CBI, police, customs, the Enforcement Directorate, or a courier company, tells you a parcel in your name contains contraband or that your Aadhaar or bank account is linked to money laundering, and keeps you on a video call, sometimes for hours, while you transfer money to "clear your name." The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) have both issued explicit advisories stating this: no Indian law enforcement agency conducts an arrest over a phone or video call, and none of them will ever ask you to move money to "verify" your innocence (mha.gov.in and cybercrime.gov.in advisories, reviewed 19 August 2026). If you are on such a call right now, hang up. There is no real arrest happening. **The fake court summons email.** An email, often with a government-looking logo or a spoofed sender name, claims you have a pending case and must click a link or pay a "processing fee" to avoid a warrant. Real court summons in India come through registered post, process servers, or the official [e-Courts and NJDG systems](/blog/check-case-status-ecourts-njdg), never through an unsolicited email demanding immediate online payment. **Tells that give a fraud away, every time.** It demands payment through an untraceable channel, a personal UPI ID, gift cards, or cryptocurrency, rather than an official court or government payment portal. It pressures you to stay on the line or keep the video call open rather than letting you hang up and verify independently. It threatens immediate arrest without ever naming a real FIR number, a real police station you can call back, or a real court and case number you can look up. If you get any of this, the correct response is the same every time: hang up, do not pay anything, and independently verify by calling the police station, court, or department yourself using a number you find independently, not one the caller gives you. ## Master comparison table | Instrument | Issued by | Compulsory to respond | Typical deadline | Consequence of ignoring | |---|---|---|---|---| | Advocate's legal notice | Private lawyer for a client | ✗ | 15-30 days (sender's choice) | Weakens your position if it later goes to court, no automatic legal penalty | | Police notice, BNSS Section 35(3) | Investigating police officer | ✓ | Date and time stated in notice | Grounds for arrest, non-cooperation can be recorded against you | | Police summons for documents | Investigating police officer | ✓ | Date stated in notice | Action for disobeying a lawful order | | Criminal court summons | Magistrate | ✓ | Date fixed by court | Bailable warrant, then non-bailable warrant if ignored again | | Civil suit summons | Civil court, Order 5 CPC | ✓ | Ordinarily 30 days from service | Possible ex parte decree against you | | Section 138 NI Act demand notice | Cheque payee, via advocate | Payment optional, response advisable | 15 days to pay after receipt | Criminal complaint, up to 2 years imprisonment or fine | | Income tax / GST notice | Tax department | ✓ | 7-30 days depending on notice type | Best-judgment assessment, penalty, possible prosecution | | Consumer forum / RERA notice | Forum or authority | ✓ | Typically 30 days | Ex parte order against you | | Recovery agent WhatsApp message | Lender's agent (or unverified) | ✗ unless lender and loan verified | None statutory | Genuine debt can still be sued on; anonymous threats have no legal weight | | Fake "digital arrest" call | Nobody real | ✗ | None, urgency is manufactured | None if ignored, except loss if you pay | ## What to actually do in the first hour Read the whole document or message before reacting. Identify who actually sent it, and whether you can independently verify that sender by looking up the police station, court, or company yourself, not through contact details the sender gave you. Check whether it names a specific case, FIR, cheque number, or account, or whether it is generic. Specificity is the strongest signal of a genuine instrument. Note the actual deadline stated, not the panic you feel about it, and work backward from there: a legal notice gives you weeks, a Section 138 notice gives you 15 days that really matter, and a fake arrest call gives you zero real deadline because nothing real is happening. If the notice is genuine and a response or a deposition is coming, decide what to preserve before you reply rather than after, since [what to preserve before you call a lawyer](/blog/preserve-evidence-before-calling-lawyer) covers what disappears fastest once a dispute is out in the open. Do not pay anyone over the phone or a chat window under threat of arrest. No genuine Indian authority collects fines that way. If in doubt about whether a cited precedent, provision, or claim in a notice is accurate, that is exactly the kind of check a tool like Niyam is built for: searching Indian case law in plain English with every answer cited back to the actual judgment, rather than taking a stranger's assertion about the law at face value. Then call a lawyer, today if the instrument is compulsory, this week if it is not. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I be arrested for not replying to an advocate's legal notice? No. A legal notice from a private advocate carries no arrest power. It is a pre-litigation letter, not a court order. The sender's only recourse is to file a civil suit or a criminal complaint separately, which then follows its own process. ### Is a BNSS Section 35(3) notice the same as being arrested? No. It is the opposite in intent, a notice of appearance is meant to let you avoid arrest by cooperating with the investigation. Ignoring it, however, removes that protection and can lead directly to an arrest being sought. ### What is the difference between a bailable and a non-bailable warrant? A bailable warrant lets you secure release by furnishing bail as a matter of right at the point of arrest. A non-bailable warrant puts the release decision at the court's discretion. Courts escalate from summons to bailable warrant to non-bailable warrant only after earlier steps are ignored. ### If I miss the 15 day deadline on a Section 138 cheque bounce notice, is it over? Yes, in the sense that matters. Once the 15 days pass without payment, the payee gains the right to file a criminal complaint. You can still contest the case in court on the merits, but the chance to resolve it before a criminal complaint is filed is gone. ### Can a recovery agent legally threaten me with arrest over an unpaid personal loan? No. Non-repayment of a personal loan is a civil matter, not a crime, so there is no arrest to threaten. Agents claiming otherwise are violating RBI's Fair Practices Code, and you can complain to the lender and then the RBI Ombudsman. ### How do I know a "digital arrest" call is fake? No Indian police officer, CBI official, or court conducts an arrest over a phone or video call, and none will ask you to transfer money to "verify your innocence" or "clear your name." If a call does either, it is a scam, hang up and verify independently. ### Do I have to open the door for a police officer without a Section 35(3) notice first? For offences carrying up to seven years' imprisonment, the Arnesh Kumar guidelines require police to prefer a notice of appearance over immediate arrest, with written reasons recorded if they deviate. This does not apply to more serious offences or situations requiring urgent action, where arrest without prior notice remains lawful. ### What happens if I am never actually served a civil suit summons but a decree is passed anyway? You can apply under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC to have the ex parte decree set aside, on the ground that service was not proper or you had sufficient cause for non-appearance. This is possible but harder and slower than simply responding when properly served in the first place. ### Can GST or income tax officers arrest me over a notice? A routine scrutiny or assessment notice does not carry arrest power. Prosecution and arrest under tax law are reserved for specific, serious circumstances involving substantial evasion, following a separate legal process, not triggered by an unanswered routine notice. ### Should I pay a recovery agent to "settle" a debt over a phone call? Only after verifying the lender's identity and loan account details independently through the lender's official app or branch, and only through a traceable, official payment channel. Never pay based solely on a WhatsApp message from an unverified number. ### Is it worth replying to a legal notice if I think the claim is baseless? Yes. A short, factual reply denying the claim and stating your position costs little and can prevent an escalation into a suit, while also creating a record that you responded promptly if the matter does end up in court. ### Where do I report a fake digital arrest or courier scam call? File a complaint immediately at cybercrime.gov.in or call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 (cybercrime.gov.in, reviewed 19 August 2026). Speed matters because banks can sometimes freeze a fraudulent transfer if reported within the first few hours.