When police seize your phone or laptop
When police may take your phone, the seizure memo, video and hash value they must record, whether you must give your password, and how to get the device back.
In short
- Police may seize a device that is connected to an offence under investigation Sec 106 BNSS, or order you in writing to produce it Sec 94 BNSS. It is not a licence to browse your whole life.
- They must prepare a seizure memo (make, model, IMEI/serial), seal the device, video-record the seizure Sec 105 BNSS, and report it to the Magistrate. Ask for your copy.
- Whether you can be forced to give a password is unsettled. Art 20(3) protects you from being made a witness against yourself. Say "I will answer after speaking to my lawyer".
- Apply to the Magistrate for return of the device under Sec 497 BNSS; courts often release it after a verified copy (hash-matched image) of the data is kept.
- Free lawyer: 15100. Cyber fraud victims: 1930.
Your phone holds your messages, photos, bank apps and the details of everyone you know. When police take it, they see more of your life than a search of your home would reveal. Police do have power to seize devices during an investigation, but that power comes with rules. Knowing them protects your privacy and gets your device back sooner.
When police can take your device
- Seizure during investigation. Under Sec 106 BNSS (earlier Sec 102 CrPC), a police officer may seize property that is suspected to be stolen or is found in circumstances that create suspicion of an offence. The seizure must be reported to the Magistrate without delay.
- Written order to produce. Under Sec 94 BNSS (earlier Sec 91 CrPC), a court or the officer in charge of a police station can order you in writing to produce a document or thing, and the section now expressly includes "communication devices" likely to contain digital evidence. The order should say which case it relates to.
- During a lawful search or arrest. A device found while searching a place under a warrant or under Sec 185 BNSS, or on your person at arrest, can be seized.
In every case the device must be relevant to the offence being investigated. An officer who asks for your phone "just to check" at a traffic stop has no power to take it. Ask politely: "Which FIR number, and under which section?"
The procedure police must follow
- Seizure memo (panchnama). A written list of what is taken, with make, model, IMEI or serial number, SIM details and whether the device was on or off, signed by two independent witnesses and by you. Read it before signing; write any objection on the memo itself.
- Audio-video recording. Under Sec 105 BNSS, the seizure, including preparing the list and the witnesses signing it, must be recorded on an audio-video device, preferably a mobile phone, and the recording sent to the Magistrate without delay. This is new since 2024.
- Sealing. The device should be switched off, sealed in a cover in your presence with signatures on the seal, and opened only at the forensic laboratory.
- Hash value. A hash value is a digital fingerprint of the data. When a forensic lab copies ("images") the device, it records the hash so a court can later see whether anything was altered. Under Sec 63 BSA (replacing Sec 65B Evidence Act), electronic evidence needs a certificate whose prescribed form includes the hash. Ask that it be recorded and given to you.
Do you have to give your password or unlock with your finger?
This is not finally settled. Art 20(3) says no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. The Supreme Court has held that this covers testimonial compulsion, being forced to reveal what you know, but not physical evidence such as fingerprints or handwriting (Kathi Kalu Oghad, 1961), and that forced narco-analysis violates it (Selvi v. State of Karnataka, 2010). A password lives in your mind, so many lawyers argue it is testimonial; a fingerprint or face unlock is physical, so police argue it is not. High Courts have differed, and some have let police seek a Magistrate's order to unlock.
Petitions asking the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines for seizure of digital devices (Foundation for Media Professionals v. Union of India, with Ram Ramaswamy v. Union of India) have been pending since 2021–22. In November 2023 the Court said guidelines were necessary and directed the Union to frame them; in December 2023 the Union said a committee was at work and the CBI's manual on digital evidence would be followed meanwhile. As of 2026 no binding Supreme Court guidelines exist. Until they do: do not lie, do not physically resist, and say you will answer about passwords after consulting a lawyer.
Your privacy remains a fundamental right. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) the Supreme Court held that any intrusion must be lawful, necessary and proportionate; copying an entire phone for a minor offence can be questioned on this ground.
Step by step: getting your device back
- A seized device becomes "case property". Under Sec 497 BNSS (earlier Sec 451 CrPC) the court must prepare a statement describing it within 14 days of its production, have it photographed or videographed, and within 30 days after that order how it is to be dealt with, including returning it.
- Through your lawyer, file an application before the Magistrate for interim custody. Offer to let the police keep a forensic image of the data, verified by hash value, and to produce the device when required, backed by a bond.
- If police say the device is still needed, ask the court to fix a time limit for the forensic report. Once an image is taken, holding the physical device serves little purpose.
- Do not wipe cloud backups; that can be seen as destroying evidence. Do change banking and email passwords from another device.
Imran, a delivery rider in Lucknow, is told by police investigating a cheating case against his former employer that they need his phone "for a few days". He asks for the FIR number and the section, and is shown a written order under Sec 94 BNSS. He insists on a seizure memo, checks that the IMEI is correct, watches the phone being sealed and videographed, and photographs the memo. Two weeks later his legal-aid lawyer applies under Sec 497 BNSS, offering a bond and asking that a hash-verified image be retained instead. The Magistrate orders the forensic lab to image the phone and return it within ten days.
Keep these ready
- Copy or photo of the seizure memo and the Sec 94 order or warrant, if any
- FIR number, police station, names of officers and witnesses
- Your purchase invoice or box showing the IMEI/serial number
Do not hand over an unlocked phone "to save time" and do not delete anything once police are at the door; destroying evidence is a separate offence. Equally, do not sign a blank or incomplete seizure memo. Everything you later argue in court depends on what that memo and video show.
Where to go
- Judicial Magistrate handling the case: application for a copy of the seizure records and video, and for return of the device under Sec 497 BNSS.
- Superintendent of Police, then the State Police Complaints Authority or State Human Rights Commission, for seizure without memo, video or legal basis.
- District Legal Services Authority (15100) for a free lawyer.
- 1930 / cybercrime.gov.in if you are the victim of cyber fraud and police need your phone as evidence.
Common questions
Can police check my phone without a warrant?
Police can seize a phone that is connected to an offence under investigation under Sec 106 BNSS, or order its production under Sec 94 BNSS, without a court warrant. They cannot demand to browse your phone at random, for example at a traffic stop. Any seizure must be recorded in a memo, video-recorded under Sec 105 BNSS and reported to the Magistrate.
Do I have to give the police my phone password?
The law is unsettled. Article 20(3) protects an accused from being compelled to be a witness against himself, and whether a password is covered has not been finally decided by the Supreme Court, where petitions for guidelines on digital device seizure remain pending as of 2026. Do not lie or resist; say you will answer after consulting a lawyer, and call 15100 if you need one.
How long can police keep my seized phone?
There is no fixed period for the investigation, but under Sec 497 BNSS the court must describe the property within 14 days of production, photograph or videograph it, and within 30 days after that decide how it is to be dealt with. You can apply for interim custody, offering a bond and a hash-verified copy of the data for the police to keep.
What is a hash value and why does it matter?
A hash value is a unique digital fingerprint of a file or of an entire device image. If even one byte changes, the hash changes. Recording it when police copy your device lets a court verify later that the data was not altered or planted. Under Sec 63 BSA, the certificate that accompanies electronic evidence includes the hash value.
This article is general information for awareness, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an advocate or call free legal aid at 15100.
