The short answer
If police take your phone, your first protection is not an argument — it is a paper trail. Section 49 of the BNSS requires a receipt for articles seized from an arrested person. Ask for a signed, dated seizure memo listing the phone, make, model, colour, IMEI if available, date, time and the officer.
Two limits matter. First, the audio-video recording rule in Section 105 of the BNSS applies to specified place searches and seizures — it does not cover every personal search. Second, Article 20(3) of the Constitution protects against compelled self-incrimination, but the precise treatment of passwords and device unlocking is fact-sensitive, and police may seek data through other lawful authority. Get individual legal advice.
At the moment of seizure
Do not obstruct. Build the record instead.
- 1Ask under which power the device is being taken.
- 2Request a signed, dated receipt or seizure memo — not a verbal assurance.
- 3Record the device identifiers: make, model, colour, IMEI if available.
- 4Note the date, time, the officer's name, and the phone's physical condition.
- 5If you can, note witnesses and keep your own written account.
The Section 49 receipt
For articles seized from an arrested person, a receipt showing the articles taken must be given. Insist that the memo identify the specific phone — make, model, colour and IMEI — not merely "electronic device". A vague memo makes it harder to prove what was taken and in what condition.
When Section 105 applies — and when it does not
Section 105 of the BNSS requires specified place-search and seizure processes — under Chapter VII or Section 185 — to be audio-video recorded, preferably on a mobile phone, and forwarded without delay to the District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate First Class. But the research expressly found that this rule does not cover every search: it does not apply to a Section 49 person-search or to Section 44. So a seizure from your person at a protest is not automatically video-recorded — your own paper trail is the record.
Password and access
Do not volunteer your PIN or password. Article 20(3) of the Constitution protects against compelled self-incrimination, but how that applies to device unlocking is fact-sensitive — police may seek the data through other lawful powers or a court order. There is no universal rule to quote at the scene; do not guess at one. Seek individual legal advice, and do not remotely wipe, alter or destroy data.
Integrity of the copy
Ask whether a forensic image is being made and whether a hash value will be documented. Preserve your cloud backups and account-security logs. Keep every document about the seizure with your case file.
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. Five words to remember: receipt, IMEI, time, officer, lawyer.