Notices issued without disclosing the corresponding FIR and crime details violate legal standards under Section 41-A of the Cr.P.C., necessitating all mandatory information for legal validity.

ORDER :

1. In this petition, the petitioners seek the following reliefs:

“1. Quash the First Information Report bearing Crime No.134/2025 registered on 27.05.2025 by the High Grounds Police Station, Bengaluru, for offences under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as being wholly illegal, arbitrary and unsustainable in law;

2. Quash the Police Notice dated 09.06.2025 issued by the High Grounds Police Station under Section 35 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in Diary No.135/2025, as being without jurisdiction and in violation of the Petitioners’ fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India;

3. Pass an order of restraint directing the Respondents and all persons acting under them from initiating or continuing any further coercive action against the Petitioners-including arrest, detention, summons, or interrogation – in relation to the aforesaid FIR and Police Notice;

4. Grant such other or further orders, directions, or reliefs as this Hon’ble Court may deem just, fit and proper in the interests of justice and equity.”

2. Heard learned Senior counsel for the petitioners and learned Addl. SPP for respondent No.1 and perused the material on record.

3. Learned Addl. SPP, on instructions, submits that the impugned police notice dated 09.06.2025 issued under Section 35 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, calls upon the petitioners to appear today. The said notice has stood exhausted today and issue fresh notice and the concerned police would issue fresh notice and proceed further, in accordance with law.

4. Per contra, learned Senior counsel invited my attention to the material on record including the impugned notice at Annexure-B dated 09.06.2025 pointing out that the same was not accompanied by the FIR as mandatorily required in law and as held by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Tavaragi Rajashekhar Shiva Prasad Vs. The State of Karnataka and others , W.P. No. 15125/2024 dated 19.07.2024, wherein it is held as under:

“The petitioner is before this Court calling in question a notice dated 06-06-2024 issued by the 4^th respondent/Sub- Inspector of Police, Amruthalli Police Station under Section 41 (1)(a) of the Cr.P.C.

2. Heard Sri M. Aruna Shyam, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri Harish Ganapathi, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for the respondents.

3. The facts, in brief, germane are as follows:-

The petitioner claims to be a reputed renowned senior Journalist. The averments are that he has worked in reputed media channels and news papers to name a few, ETV, TV-9, Samaya TV, Janasri Bhrarth-1 and Vijaya Karnataka. It is the further averment that he has worked in various capacities like, reporter, anchor, editor-in-chief, CEO and Director. The story in the petition commences from a notice that he has received on whatsapp on 06-06-2024, issued by the 4^th respondent calling upon him to appear before him at Amruthahalli Police Station on 07-06-2024 at 10.30 a.m. The petitioner is said to have requested for time and also sought the reason for summoning or issuing a police notice which had been transmitted by way of whatsapp. The 4^th respondent did not disclose the reason for issuance of the impugned notice. The notice was styled to be issued under Section 41 (1)(a) of the Cr.P.C., which does not refer to registration of any crime under which the notice was issued. The petitioner then claims that he enquired about the impugned notice at the police station at around 12 p.m. through his Advocate and sought reasons for issuance of the notice. Even then, he was not informed the crime details. It is, therefore, the petitioner knocked at the doors of this Court in the subject petition.

4. Learned senior counsel Sri M. Aruna Shyam contends that Section 41 of the Cr.P.C., cannot be invoked for issue of notice, without at the outset the crime being registered against any person who is issued notice, fai