This question generates far more anxiety than the legal reality warrants, so let me give you a clear, calm answer. A summons from a Judicial Magistrate at the Nashik court complex requires you to respond, but responding does not always mean standing personally in the dock for every hearing.

Under Section 228 of the BNSS (formerly Section 205 CrPC), the Magistrate has the discretion, when issuing summons, to dispense with your personal attendance and permit you to appear through your advocate. This facility is routinely granted in summons-triable cases and in procedural hearings where your physical presence adds nothing to the court's substantive work. Your counsel files an application for exemption from personal attendance, undertaking that you will appear personally whenever the court specifically requires — for instance, at the stage when your statement is to be recorded under Section 351 BNSS. Nashik's Magistrate courts grant these exemptions in appropriate cases without difficulty.

What you must never do is ignore the summons entirely or leave it unresponded to. Non-appearance without a filed exemption application — and without your counsel appearing on your behalf — is what leads the Magistrate to issue a non-bailable warrant. A warrant converts a manageable situation into an urgent one that requires considerably more effort to resolve. The correct response is proactive: engage a criminal advocate immediately, have them appear on the first date at the Nashik court, and simultaneously file the exemption application under Section 228 where the nature of the case warrants it. The Magistrate retains power to direct your personal attendance at any stage even with an exemption in place. The criminal advocates at the Nashik panel of Aapka Legal Advice can appear on your behalf and file the exemption application promptly.