These notes are written for litigants and for younger members of the Bar. They explain procedure as it operates in the Delhi courts — the sequence of steps, the timelines that matter, and the points at which a matter is commonly lost. They are general information, not advice on any particular case.
No Coercive Steps: True Scope – Advocate Manish Jha
By order dated 24 August 2026 in Arun Kumar Mandal v. State of Jharkhand, the Supreme Court clarified that interim protection from arrest does not bar the investigating officer from completing the investigation and filing a charge sheet.
Read → 26 August 2026 · Criminal LawLong Custody as a Ground for Bail – Advocate Manish Jha
Prolonged undertrial custody with no realistic prospect of early trial completion can itself justify bail on Article 21 grounds — the K.A. Najeeb principle and Section 479 BNSS explained.
Read → 26 August 2026 · Criminal LawAnticipatory Bail: Which Court First? – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 482 BNSS gives the Sessions Court and the High Court concurrent anticipatory bail jurisdiction. When to start in the district court, when a direct High Court petition is justified, and how the second application should be built.
Read → 26 August 2026 · Criminal LawPOCSO Offences & Punishments – Advocate Manish Jha
The POCSO Act's graded offence pairs mapped — Sections 3 to 12, the aggravated forms, the 2019 minimum-sentence enhancements, and why classification decides bail, trial and sentence.
Read → 26 August 2026 · Criminal LawFalse Complaints under POCSO: S.22 – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 22 POCSO punishes complaints made solely to humiliate, extort, threaten or defame — while immunising children entirely. Its three limbs, and why an acquittal alone does not trigger it.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawBailable vs Non-Bailable Offences – Advocate Manish Jha
What makes an offence bailable, the enforceable right to release under Section 478 BNSS, the one-week indigent-person rule, and how the First Schedule classification drives strategy from the first hour of an arrest.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawBail for Women, Sick and Infirm – Advocate Manish Jha
The first proviso to Section 480(1) BNSS restores judicial discretion to grant bail to children, women and the sick or infirm even in offences punishable with death or life imprisonment — how courts exercise it.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawHow Long Anticipatory Bail Lasts – Advocate Manish Jha
The Constitution Bench in Sushila Aggarwal held that anticipatory bail is not time-bound and does not end at summons or chargesheet — the rule that governs Section 482 BNSS practice today.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawCustodial Interrogation & AB Pleas – Advocate Manish Jha
The commonest objection to anticipatory bail — that custodial interrogation is required — examined: what custody actually adds, how courts test the plea, and how applicants structure cooperation to answer it.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawIdentity Protection under POCSO – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 23 POCSO and Section 72 BNS prohibit disclosing a child victim's identity in any form of media — including social media posts — with a narrow judicial exception and real penalties for breach.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawSupport Persons under POCSO Rules – Advocate Manish Jha
The POCSO Rules, 2020 let the Child Welfare Committee assign a trained support person to accompany a child victim through investigation and trial — appointment, duties and why the institution matters.
Read → 25 August 2026 · Criminal LawCriminal Appeal Forums under BNSS – Advocate Manish Jha
The criminal appeal map under Chapter XXXI BNSS: Section 415 forums for convictions, the victim's appeal under the proviso to Section 413, petty-case bars, and the first steps after a conviction.
Read →What Is Covered Here
The chamber writes on the areas in which it appears: criminal procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, bail practice, matrimonial and family proceedings before the Delhi Family Courts, cheque dishonour and recovery, and proceedings before the NCLT and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Notes on reported judgments of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi are published with a link to the official text of the decision, so that a reader can verify the position rather than rely on a summary.
No article on this page identifies a client or discusses a pending matter conducted by the chamber. Where a statutory provision is cited, the section number is given so that a reader can verify it against the bare Act.