The Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot serve notices to accused individuals via WhatsApp or other electronic means under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) or the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
A bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal has directed all states and union territories (UTs) to ensure that police issue notices under Section 41A of CrPC, 1973 or Section 35 of BNSS, 2023 only through legally prescribed methods.
“All states and UTs must issue a standing order to their respective police departments, instructing them to serve notices strictly as per the service modes defined in CrPC, 1973, or BNSS, 2023,” the bench ruled on January 21.