R & D Law Chambers LLP Practice is led by Ravish Bhatt | Advocate, Bar Council of Gujarat (G/504/2008) | Dual-qualified lawyer (India and England and Wales) | Solicitor of England and Wales (non-practising), SRA Registration No. 492 477 | ADIT, Chartered Institute of Taxation, London Published: 09 July 2026 | Last reviewed: 04 November 2026 |
R & D Law Chambers LLP is an Ahmedabad law firm that acts in criminal matters before the Sessions Courts across Gujarat, the Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad and, where a matter travels further, the Supreme Court of India. The work on this page is pre-arrest and early-stage criminal defence: anticipatory bail, regular and default bail, and the quashing of FIRs, chargesheets and private complaints. Since 1 July 2024 these remedies are governed by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The old section numbers still appear below in brackets, because the fifty years of precedent built under them continues to apply.
1. Who the firm acts for
The firm acts for people who have learned that an FIR naming them has been, or is about to be, registered; for directors and officers pulled into a criminal complaint because of the position they hold; and for businesses whose commercial dispute has been recast as a criminal offence. Each of these starts in the same place: securing liberty and testing whether the proceeding should exist at all.
The first hours matter. Whether a person applies for anticipatory bail, responds to a notice under section 35 BNSS, or moves to quash the FIR depends on what has been registered, under which provisions, and at what stage. Those three facts decide the remedy.
2. Anticipatory bail (section 482 BNSS)
Anticipatory bail under section 482 BNSS (formerly section 438 CrPC) is a direction that, if arrested in a non-bailable offence, the applicant be released on bail. It operates before arrest. The application lies to the Court of Session or the High Court, which hold concurrent power, and the court may grant protection with conditions or refuse it.
The settled position on duration comes from the Constitution Bench in Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2020) 5 SCC 1, which held that the protection “should not invariably be limited to a fixed period” and ordinarily continues until the end of the trial, subject to special circumstances. This followed and affirmed the foundational Constitution Bench in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab, (1980) 2 SCC 565, which read section 438 widely and held that anticipatory bail may be sought at any time before arrest.
In Gujarat the application is ordinarily made first to the Sessions Court in the district where the FIR is registered, and the Gujarat High Court is approached if that application is refused. Direct approach to the High Court is competent but calls for an explanation of why the Sessions Court was bypassed.
Detailed guidance on the grounds, procedure and realistic timeline for anticipatory bail before the Gujarat High Court is set out on a dedicated page.
3. Regular bail and default bail (sections 483, 480 and 187 BNSS)
Regular bail is sought after arrest. In non-bailable offences the special powers of the High Court and the Court of Session sit in section 483 BNSS (formerly section 439 CrPC); the general power, exercisable by the Magistrate, is in section 480 BNSS (formerly section 437). The governing framework is Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI, (2022) 10 SCC 51, which restated that “bail is the rule, jail is the exception”, sorted offences into four categories for bail purposes, and reinforced that for offences punishable with seven years or less arrest is not automatic.
Default bail is different in kind. Under section 187(3) BNSS (formerly section 167(2) CrPC), an accused acquires an indefeasible right to release if the investigation is not completed and the police report (now under section 193 BNSS) is not filed within the statutory period: 90 days where the offence is punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment of not less than ten years, and 60 days otherwise. This is a statutory right that turns on dates, not on the merits, and it is lost once the report is filed if it has not already been claimed.
Default bail under section 187(3) BNSS, and regular bail on the Satender Kumar Antil framework, are each covered in depth on their own pages.
4. Quashing of FIRs, chargesheets and private complaints (section 528 BNSS)
The High Court’s power to quash an FIR, a chargesheet or a complaint is its inherent power under section 528 BNSS. This is the successor to section 482 CrPC, in identical language, and a point of genuine confusion worth stating plainly: section 482 of the BNSS is now anticipatory bail, while the quashing power that practitioners knew as “482” is now section 528. A petition filed on or after 1 July 2024 is drawn under section 528 BNSS.
The grounds are the seven categories crystallised in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, which continue to govern: among them, where the allegations even taken at face value disclose no offence, where they are inherently improbable, and where the proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fides. Where the dispute is essentially private and has been settled, Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, (2012) 10 SCC 303, recognises that the High Court may quash even non-compoundable offences to secure the ends of justice, weighing the nature and gravity of the offence.
When the Gujarat High Court will and will not quash an FIR under section 528 BNSS is examined on a dedicated page.
5. Directors, officers and criminalised commercial disputes
A recurring category is the commercial dispute dressed as a crime: a contractual default or a company matter converted into an FIR for cheating or criminal breach of trust, often naming every director regardless of role. Vicarious criminal liability is not automatic. It arises only where a statute creates it and the complaint pleads the specific role that the provision requires, and a complaint that names a director by designation alone is open to challenge.
The firm’s analysis of this question is set out in its articles on the vicarious liability of company directors for criminal offences and on vicarious liability under specific statutes.
6. Arrest, notice under section 35 BNSS, and remand
Arrest is not a formality that follows registration of an FIR. Under section 35 BNSS (formerly sections 41 and 41A CrPC), where arrest is not necessary the police must issue a notice to appear, and in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273, the Supreme Court held that for offences punishable with up to seven years the officer must record why arrest is necessary and the Magistrate must apply an independent mind before authorising detention. These safeguards shape the response to a notice, the opposition to police custody at first production, and the argument that a particular arrest was itself unlawful.
7. Appeals, revisions and suspension of sentence
Where a trial has concluded, the firm acts in criminal appeals and revisions and in applications for suspension of sentence pending appeal. These are built on the trial record and the specific errors in the judgment below, and are distinct from the pre-trial work above.
8. How the firm works
Each matter begins with an assessment of the FIR or complaint, the provisions invoked and the stage reached, because those determine whether the first step is anticipatory bail, a reply to a section 35 notice, or a quashing petition. Urgent applications before the Gujarat High Court can be moved on the criminal side, and urgent listing can be sought where genuine urgency is shown and explained. No lawyer can promise an outcome; what can be done is to identify the strongest available position and argue it.
9. Key principles at a glance
- Anticipatory bail (section 482 BNSS) is pre-arrest; regular bail (sections 483 and 480 BNSS) is post-arrest.
- Anticipatory bail is not confined to a fixed period and ordinarily lasts until the end of the trial (Sushila Aggarwal).
- Rejection of anticipatory bail does not make arrest automatic; the section 35 BNSS and Arnesh Kumar safeguards still apply.
- Default bail (section 187(3) BNSS) is a statutory right on investigation delay: 60 or 90 days depending on the offence.
- An FIR is quashed under section 528 BNSS, not section 482 BNSS, on the Bhajan Lal grounds.
- A criminal complaint against a director by designation alone, without the role the statute requires, is open to challenge.
10. Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between anticipatory bail and regular bail?
Anticipatory bail under section 482 BNSS is sought before arrest: it is a direction that, if arrested in a non-bailable offence, the person be released on bail. Regular bail under sections 483 or 480 BNSS is sought after arrest, to secure release from custody. Anticipatory bail lies only to the Court of Session or the High Court; regular bail may, depending on the offence, also lie to the Magistrate.
Can I apply directly to the Gujarat High Court for anticipatory bail without going to the Sessions Court?
Yes, the Court of Session and the High Court hold concurrent power under section 482 BNSS, so a direct application to the Gujarat High Court is competent. In practice the Sessions Court is approached first, and a direct approach to the High Court ordinarily requires an explanation of why the Sessions Court was bypassed, such as genuine urgency or a reason the lower court cannot appropriately deal with the matter.
If my anticipatory bail is rejected, will I definitely be arrested?
No. Rejection of anticipatory bail does not by itself make arrest automatic. The police must still justify arrest under section 35 BNSS, and the Arnesh Kumar safeguards continue to apply for offences punishable with up to seven years. Where the Sessions Court refuses the application, the Gujarat High Court remains available, and where the High Court refuses, the Supreme Court; courts sometimes grant a short interim protection to allow the higher forum to be approached, though this is discretionary and cannot be assumed.
Can an FIR be quashed after the chargesheet is filed?
Yes. The inherent power under section 528 BNSS can be exercised even after the chargesheet is filed and cognizance is taken, because the power exists to prevent abuse of process and to secure the ends of justice. Filing of the chargesheet does not oust the jurisdiction; it affects what the court weighs, since the material collected during investigation is then before it.
How long does an anticipatory bail application take?
There is no fixed statutory timeline, and the period varies with the court, the offence and the listing position. Urgent matters can be moved on the criminal side of the Gujarat High Court, and urgent listing can be sought where genuine urgency is shown. The duration therefore depends on the individual matter rather than a uniform rule.
A criminal complaint names me only because I am a director. Can it be quashed?
It may be open to challenge. Vicarious criminal liability is not automatic: it arises only where a statute expressly creates it and the complaint pleads the specific role that the provision requires. A complaint that names a director by designation alone, without stating how that person was responsible, is a recognised ground for seeking quashing under section 528 BNSS, assessed on the wording of the complaint and the statute invoked.
11. Related services and contact
Related pages: Gujarat High Court matters; Economic offences and fiscal criminal defence; and the firm’s articles on the vicarious liability of company directors.
R & D Law Chambers LLP, 604 Entice, Bopal-Ambli Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380058. Telephone 02717 474375. Email info@rdlawchambers.com.