The short answer
No - not on a phone call. A call from the police asking you to come to the station tomorrow creates no legal obligation. What creates an obligation is a written Notice of Appearance under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) (formerly Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If you have received that notice in writing, the position is different: read it carefully and comply with what it says. The entire question, in other words, is not what they said - it is what they put in writing.
What a real Section 35 notice looks like
A Section 35 notice is a written document, and it carries the markers of one. It identifies the case - the FIR number, the police station, the provisions invoked. It names you and states where and when you are required to appear. It cites Section 35 of the BNSS as its authority, and it bears the name, rank, and seal of the officer issuing it. The statute provides that a person who complies with the notice, and continues to comply, shall not be arrested in connection with that case unless the officer records reasons for doing so. Keep the original safe; everything you do next refers back to this paper.
What does not count
Three things people mistake for a notice. A phone call is not a notice - however official the caller sounds, however specific the instruction. A WhatsApp message is not a notice: in the Supreme Court's compliance proceedings in Satender Kumar Antil (21 January 2025), the Court held that notices under this provision cannot be served by WhatsApp, SMS, email, or other electronic means. An SMS or an email is not a notice either, for the same reason. If the only thing you have received is a call or a message, you have not been served a notice in the eyes of the law.
What to do when you receive a written notice
A written notice deserves a written, orderly response:
- 1Read the whole notice. Note the case details, the place and time of appearance, and the officer's name and rank.
- 2Comply with what it asks. Appear where and when it says, and carry the notice and an identity document with you.
- 3Consider speaking to a lawyer before you go. A short consultation before the appearance is normal and sensible.
- 4Keep a record of the visit: when you went, whom you met, what was asked. If anything is put to you in writing, keep a copy.
- 5Do not ignore a written notice. It is the one form of this communication that the law backs, and ignoring it is the one response that genuinely worsens your position.
Receiving a notice does not end your options
One honest caveat. A Section 35 notice regulates how the police proceed; it does not extinguish the apprehension of arrest. If you fear arrest despite the notice, the remedy the law provides is anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the BNSS (formerly Section 438 of the CrPC) - applied for before a Sessions Court or the High Court. The notice and the bail application are not alternatives; people routinely pursue both. The guide on anticipatory bail walks through that route.
What this guide is
This is a description of the public process, not legal advice. For advice about your own case, speak to a lawyer or the police station handling it.