A criminal case moves fastest in its first seventy-two hours, and that is usually when people know least about what to do. The chamber's criminal practice is built around acting early — securing bail, protecting the accused during investigation, and putting the defence on record before the prosecution's version hardens.
Matters are handled under both the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and, for offences committed earlier, the Indian Penal Code, along with special statutes such as the NDPS Act, POCSO Act, Arms Act, Excise Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Bail is the heart of a district court criminal practice. The chamber regularly moves:
Where a client has been picked up by the police, the chamber attends the remand hearing itself rather than waiting for a fresh date.
Not every FIR should be fought to trial. Where the complaint is civil in nature, is the result of a settled dispute, or discloses no offence at all, a petition under Section 528 BNSS (earlier S. 482 CrPC) before the Delhi High Court can end the matter. The chamber also handles applications for return of seized property, protection from coercive action, and discharge applications at the stage of framing charge.
Where a trial is unavoidable, the defence is prepared file by file: cross-examination is planned around the contradictions in the chargesheet, defence witnesses are identified early, and written submissions are filed rather than left to oral argument. Appeals, revisions and criminal writs are carried to the Sessions Court and the Delhi High Court.
Ordinarily the application is filed within a day or two of instructions, notice goes to the State, and the matter is usually decided within one to three hearings depending on the offence and the Investigating Officer's report. Bailable and less serious matters move faster.
In non-compoundable offences the FIR cannot simply be withdrawn, but the Delhi High Court can quash it on the basis of a genuine settlement where the offence is essentially private in nature. Serious offences against the State are generally not quashed on compromise.
The accused is produced before the Magistrate within 24 hours. The police may seek custody; the defence opposes it and simultaneously moves for bail. Attendance by an advocate at this stage materially affects the remand order.
Yes. The chamber also represents victims and complainants — assisting the prosecution, opposing bail, and moving protest petitions where a closure report has been filed.
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