Mohd Afzal Alias Gabbar and Anr. Vs State of Uttarakhand — Uttarakhand HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Mohd Afzal Alias Gabbar and Anr. Vs State of Uttarakhand — Uttarakhand HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Directive that the Investigating Officer issue and abide by the prior-notice procedure under Section 35(3) of the BNSS Act, 2023 (under Section 41A of Cr.P.C.) before taking any coercive measures against the petitioners; writ petition disposed of accordingly, along with pending applications, if any.

Issue for consideration

Whether the investigating agency must comply with the guidelines laid down in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar and another, reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273 — specifically, that prior notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS (the Section 41A Cr.P.C. procedure) be issued before any arrest or coercive measures against the petitioners implicated in FIR No.0473 of 2025.

Ratio / Principle

Since the offence charged carries a punishment of maximum seven years, before resorting to any arrest, prior notice under Section 35(3) of the B.N.S.S., 2023 (under Section 41A of Cr.P.C.) is necessary to be issued to the petitioners.

Key takeaways

Before taking any coercive measures against the petitioners, the Investigating Officer shall abide by the procedure given under Section 35(3) of the BNSS Act, 2023 (under Section 41A of Cr.P.C.).ratio¶5

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Criminal writ petition WPCRL No.1384 of 2025 (decided 06.11.2025, Hon'ble Pankaj Purohit, J.): petitioners impugned FIR No.0473 of 2025 dated 29.10.2025, lodged under Section 118(1) of BNS, 2023 and registered at P.S. Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar. Counsel confined the prayer to enforcement of the guidelines given in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar and another, reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273. Observing that the offence carries a punishment of maximum seven years, the bench held that prior notice under Section 35(3) of the B.N.S.S., 2023 (framed by the court against Section 41A of Cr.P.C.) is necessary before resorting to any arrest, and provided that before taking any coercive measures against the petitioners the Investigating Officer shall abide by the Section 35(3) procedure. The writ petition stands disposed of accordingly; pending applications stand disposed of likewise.

SL. No.	Date	Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with	COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS
		Signatures	WPCRL No.1384 of 2025 Hon’ble Pankaj Purohit, J. Mr. Mohit Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioners. 2. Mr. Rakesh Negi, learned Brief Holder for the State. 3. By means of this writ petition, petitioners have impugned the FIR No.0473 of 2025 dated 29.10.2025, lodged under Section 118(1) of BNS, 2023, registered at P.S. Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioners has limited his argument to the extent that the investigation agency should comply with the guidelines given in_Arnesh_ _Kumar Vs. State of Bihar and another_reported in(2014) 8 SCC 273 . 5. Since the aforesaid offence carry a punishment maximum to seven years, therefore before resorting to any arrest, prior notice under Section 35(3) of the B.N.S.S., 2023 (under Section 41A of Cr.P.C.) is necessary to be issued to the petitioners. Hence, it is provided that before taking any coercive measures against the petitioners, the Investigating Officer shall abide by procedure given under Section 35(3) of the BNSS Act, 2023 (under Section 41A of Cr.P.C.) 6. Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of. 7. Pending application, if any, stands disposed of accordingly. (Pankaj Purohit, J.) 06.11.2025 AK