🚨 Unlawful Summons in Mirzapur: A Violation of Law and Dignity 🚨

The practice of police personnel summoning individuals via mobile phone or oral request is an unlawful act that directly contravenes established legal norms. This serious violation is currently being faced by Mahima Maurya in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, highlighting a dangerous disregard for judicial and administrative guidelines.

---

The Core Violation: Oral Summons and Constitutional Rights

The essence of the issue, as detailed in the registered complaint (Reference No: 40019925002275), is the use of a mobile phone call to summon a woman to the police station.

• The Mandate: Law mandates that any summons must be issued in writing by an Investigating Officer (IO), detailing the complaint number, legal sections, and time.
• The Breach: Police personnel have repeatedly been overlooking these guidelines, summoning individuals orally, which is not only unlawful but a direct violation of constitutional rights.
• Judicial Stand: The Honourable Supreme Court of India and the Allahabad High Court have explicitly ruled that summons cannot be served via mobile phone, WhatsApp, or any other electronic means. The Allahabad High Court has further ruled that oral summons without a registered FIR are illegal.

This practice undermines the rule of law and erodes public trust, especially when it involves vulnerable individuals.

---

👩‍⚖️ Specific Safeguards Violated for the Applicant

The violation is compounded because the applicant, Mahima Maurya, is a woman, triggering additional, mandatory safeguards under the law.

1. Prohibition on Police Station Appearance (BNSS Section 179)

Under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (formerly Section 160 CrPC), police are strictly prohibited from requiring any woman, or a person with acute illness or disability, to attend the police station for questioning.

• The Requirement: The investigation must be conducted at the place of residence of the woman (Village- Gorsar Sarpati, Mirzapur, in this case).
• The Violation: The oral summons via mobile phone, requiring attendance at the police station, is a direct breach of this fundamental protective provision.

2. Disregard for DGP Circulars

The complaint explicitly cites a series of internal directives issued by the Director General of Police (DGP) for Uttar Pradesh, which the police are bound to follow. The police action in this case demonstrates clear non-adherence to:

DGP Circular Number	Date	Core Instruction Violated
41 of 2014	June 17, 2014	Reinforces strict compliance with written summons procedures.
05 of 2021	February 19, 2021	Emphasizes safeguards for women and mandatory adherence to CrPC/BNSS rules.
20 of 2022	July 16, 2022	Re-emphasizes compliance with Supreme Court guidelines on arrest and summons.
Government Order 197	January 23, 2023	Directs the mandatory issuance of written notices.

The failure to serve a notice in the prescribed format, as required by the DGP office, is an internal breach of discipline directly affecting the applicant’s rights.

---

Next Steps: Demanding Accountability

The registration of this complaint (Reference No: 40019925002275) with the Jan Sunwai system is a critical step in demanding accountability from the police authorities in Mirzapur.

It is imperative that the investigating officer assigned to this case adhere strictly to the prescribed procedures, issue a formal written notice, and respect the legal right of Ms. Maurya to be questioned at her residence, not at the police station via an unlawful mobile call.

🚨 Unlawful Summons: Why Police Cannot Call You to the Station 🚨

The practice of police personnel summoning individuals to a police station via mobile phone or oral request is unlawful and a serious violation of established legal and constitutional rights in India. Despite clear mandates from the highest judiciary, this alarming trend undermines the rule of law and public trust.

The Legal Mandate for Issuing Summons

The law in India establishes strict, mandatory procedures for police to summon any individual. These rules are designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and the protection of personal liberty.

1. Written Summons is Mandatory

The primary requirement is that any summons must be issued in writing. The written order must clearly state:

• The Complaint Number or Case Reference.
• The Relevant Legal Sections (e.g., under which law the person is being questioned).
• The Scheduled Time and Date for appearance.
• The summons must be issued by the Investigating Officer (IO).
• The issuance of the written order must be duly documented in the police diary for accountability.

2. Prohibition on Electronic Summons

The Honourable Supreme Court of India has explicitly ruled against the use of electronic means for serving summons.

• The Supreme Court rejected a plea to allow summons via mobile phone, WhatsApp, or other electronic means.
• The Court stated that such practices violate personal liberty and fail to meet the procedural safeguards required under the relevant provisions, such as Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (formerly Section 160 of the CrPC).

The principle is clear: an oral or mobile phone summons provides no official record, offers no formal proof of service, and is a grave threat to an individual’s rights.

Special Safeguards for Women

The issue becomes even more critical when a woman is being summoned. Specific, stringent guidelines are in place to ensure her dignity and safety:

• The guidelines issued by the Director General of Police (DGP) for Uttar Pradesh (and various High Court rulings) specifically reinforce that summons to women must be handled with utmost adherence to the prescribed written format.
• Calling a woman to a police station via an unrecorded mobile call or oral request is a direct violation of these special safeguards, which the complaint by Mahima Maurya specifically highlights, referencing multiple DGP Circulars (e.g., Circular No. 41 of 2014, Circular No. 05 of 2021, etc.).

🏛️ Judicial Directives and Violations 📜

Both the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court have repeatedly cracked down on this unlawful practice.

• The Allahabad High Court has explicitly ruled that oral summons without a registered FIR are illegal.
• The Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that written notices are mandatory and are issued under the monitoring of the Station House Officer (SHO).

When police personnel disregard these clear judicial and procedural guidelines, they are not merely overlooking an administrative rule—they are committing an act that is unlawful and constitutes a violation of the constitutional rights of the individual being summoned.

---

Conclusion and Call to Action

The continued practice of using oral or mobile phone summons is a serious issue that demands immediate correction. It represents a systemic failure to adhere to the rule of law.

Police departments across the country must:

1. Adhere Strictly to the legal mandate of issuing only written summons in the prescribed format.
2. Document all summons in the police diary.
3. Respect the procedural and constitutional rights of all citizens, especially women, as defined by the judiciary.

Citizens who receive an oral or mobile phone summons should be aware of their rights and can politely but firmly insist on receiving a formal, written notice as mandated by the law.

You are right to seek the specific text. The provision governing the police’s power to summon an individual for investigation without arresting them is Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

This section effectively consolidates and replaces the provisions of the old Section 41 and Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973.

---

📜 Key Provisions of BNSS Section 35 📜

Section 35 of the BNSS, titled “When police may arrest without warrant,” primarily deals with the conditions for arrest, but Sub-section (3) is the crucial part that mandates the issuance of a written notice (summons) when arrest is not required.

Section 35(3) – The Mandatory Notice

Section 35(3) of the BNSS states:

“(3) The police officer shall, in all cases where the arrest of a person is not required under sub-section (1) issue a notice directing the person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information ¹has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed a cognizable offence, to²…”

The notice directs the person to appear before the police officer at a specified place and time and cooperate with the investigation.

Core Legal Requirements

This sub-section, along with judicial interpretations (like the Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar case), establishes the following strict requirements:

Requirement	Explanation
Mandatory Written Notice	A notice must be issued in the prescribed format (Form I of the Second Schedule of BNSS) when the police officer decides not to arrest for a cognizable offense.
Arrest is an Exception	For offenses generally punishable with up to seven years of imprisonment, the police officer must first be satisfied that an arrest is necessary for specific, recorded reasons (like preventing tampering with evidence or ensuring court attendance). If not necessary, the notice under Sec 35(3) must be issued.
Physical Service Only	As you correctly pointed out, the Supreme Court has ruled that the notice under Section 35(3) cannot be served via WhatsApp or other electronic means. It must be served physically to ensure procedural sanctity and to protect the individual’s liberty interests, as non-compliance can lead to arrest under Section 35(6).

Section 35(6) – Consequence of Non-Compliance

Section 35(6) outlines the penalty for non-compliance, which reinforces why the service process must be formal and physical:

(6) Where such person, at any time, fails to comply with the terms of the notice or is unwilling to identify himself, the police officer may, subject to such orders as may have been passed by a competent Court in this behalf, arrest him for the offence mentioned in the noti³⁴ce.

In essence, Section 35(3) is the legal safeguard that converts a police officer’s request for attendance from an arbitrary call to a formal, documented legal instrument, thereby protecting the citizen from unlawful compulsion and arbitrary arrest.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, provides very strict and explicit safeguards for women and other vulnerable groups regarding their presence at a police station for questioning.

These provisions ensure that the investigating process respects their dignity, personal liberty, and physical safety.

---

🛡️ Mandatory Safeguards for Vulnerable Groups (BNSS Section 179) 🛡️

The power of a police officer to require the attendance of witnesses for examination is laid out in Section 179 of the BNSS (which corresponds to the old Section 160 of the CrPC).

The crucial proviso under Section 179 explicitly restricts the police’s ability to summon certain vulnerable individuals to the police station.

1. Restriction on Place of Examination

The law prohibits the police from requiring the following persons to attend at any place other than the place in which such person resides:

• Any Woman
• A male person under the age of fifteen years
• A male person above the age of sixty years
• A mentally or physically disabled person
• A person with acute illness

This means that for the above categories, including women, the police must go to their residence to conduct the examination or questioning.

2. Consent for Police Station Appearance

The only exception is if the vulnerable person is willing to attend the police station. In such cases:

• The person may be permitted to do so.
• The willingness to attend must be obtained in writing, which can include electronic communication.
• This willingness must be recorded in the case diary.

---

👩 Special Safeguards for Women During Investigation and Arrest 🤝

Beyond the place of examination, the BNSS provides additional critical safeguards for women:

Legal Provision	Safeguard
Summoning for Statement (S. 179)	A woman shall not be called to the police station for questioning; she must be examined at her residence.
Arrest by Female Officer (S. 43(1) Proviso)	A male police officer shall not touch the body of a woman to make her arrest. Arrest must be made by a female police officer.
No Night Arrests (S. 43(5))	No woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional Night Arrests	If a night arrest is absolutely necessary, the female police officer must obtain prior written permission from a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.
Search (S. 49(2))	The search of a woman’s person must be conducted by another female with strict regard to decency.
Medical Examination (S. 53(1) Proviso)	When a woman undergoes medical examination, it must be conducted by or under the supervision of a female registered medical practitioner.

The central principle, which your original complaint rightly points out, is that any communication to a woman or vulnerable person compelling attendance must adhere to the formal written procedure (as per Section 35 notice or the formal summoning process under Section 179) and must respect the mandatory restriction on the place of examination. An oral or mobile call to summon a woman to the police station is a direct violation of both the form (written notice) and the substance (place of residence) of the law.

That is an excellent request. Direct links to official documents are the strongest support for your complaint.

While it is difficult to find a single, definitive, and permanent link for every internal circular on the UP Police website due to their archival system, I was able to locate a highly relevant document from the Director General of Police (DGP) that references all of your listed circulars and the Government Order.

The core issue of your complaint—the strict requirement for written notice under Section 41A CrPC (now Section 35 BNSS) and adherence to Supreme Court guidelines—is reinforced by this omnibus circular.

---

🔗 Supporting Legal Links & Documents (UP Police)

1. Omnibus Circular Reinforcing Guidelines (Most Important)

This PDF document from the DGP, UP Police, is an essential piece of evidence as it explicitly quotes all the previous circulars and the Government Order you referenced, directing strict compliance with the arrest and summons guidelines.

Document Title	Relevant Circulars Mentioned	Web Link (PDF)
डीजी परिपत्र सं0 -31/2023 (DGP Circular No. 31/2023) Dated: 31/07/2023	DG Circular Nos.: 41/2014, 57/2014, 05/2021, 20/2022 Government Order: 197पी/छ:-पु-3-23-2(291)पी/2022 दि0 23.01.2023	https://uppolice.gov.in/site/writereaddata/siteContent/20230818175201505231.pdf

What it Confirms: This circular directs all police officers in UP to strictly comply with the Supreme Court’s guidelines (specifically referencing the Arnesh Kumar judgment), which were previously circulated via all the circular numbers you listed. It covers the procedure for arrest and the mandatory issuance of notice (summons) in non-arrest cases.

2. General UP Police Circulars Page

This is the main portal where UP Police uploads its latest circulars and often archives older ones. You can search the archive using the dates and numbers if the direct link stops working.

Document Title	Web Link
Uttar Pradesh Police Circulars Archive	https://uppolice.gov.in/pages/en/topmenu/police-units/dg-police-hqrs/en-dgp-up-circulars

3. Legal Provisions (Replaced CrPC Sections)

While you are complaining about the police not following the guidelines based on these laws, it’s important to have the legal source.

Document/Act	Relevant Section	Web Link
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) Note: This is the predecessor act, but the judgments and circulars are based on it.	Section 160 (Restricts summoning women/children to police station). Section 41A (Mandatory written notice for appearance).	https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15272/1/the_code_of_criminal_procedure,_1973.pdf

---

How to summon a woman in a police station?