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Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another

Special Leave Petition (Criminal) · 2025 INSC 909Decided 16 Jul 2025
IA No. 63691 of 2025 in MA No. 2034 of 2022 in MA No. 1849 of 2021 in SLP (Crl.) No. 5191 of 2021
Justice M.M. Sundresh

Background

This order is a follow-up in the Supreme Court's ongoing bail-reform proceedings originating from the landmark Satender Kumar Antil case. In an earlier order dated 21.01.2025, the Court had directed all States and Union Territories to ensure that notices under Section 41-A of the CrPC (or its successor, Section 35 of the BNSS), which call a person for investigation without arresting them, be served only through the modes formally prescribed by law, not through WhatsApp or other informal electronic communication. The State of Haryana filed an application seeking to modify that order, arguing that electronic service should also be permitted since certain other provisions of the BNSS expressly allow it.

Decision Breakdown

The Court examined the BNSS scheme in detail and found that electronic communication is expressly permitted only for specific administrative procedures, such as issuing summons to produce a document (Section 94) or forwarding investigation reports and updates to a magistrate or victim (Section 193), none of which touch a person's personal liberty. Since Parliament deliberately did not extend electronic service to Section 35 notices (which can lead to a person's appearance and potential arrest), the Court held this omission reflected clear legislative intent, and introducing electronic service by judicial interpretation would violate that intent. Haryana's modification application was dismissed, and the January 2025 order requiring formal service was confirmed.

Lesson Learnt

Notices that can affect a person's liberty, like a police call for investigation before a possible arrest, must be served through the formally recognised legal channels (such as personal or registered service), not through informal digital means like WhatsApp, even though electronic communication is allowed for other routine, non-liberty-related procedures.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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