This is a question that generates disproportionate anxiety, so let me give you a calm, accurate answer. A summons issued by a Judicial Magistrate in Patna — at the CJM Court or any Magistrate court in the Patna district — requires you to respond. But responding does not always mean standing in person in the dock for every hearing date.

Under Section 228 of the BNSS (formerly Section 205 CrPC), the Magistrate has the discretion, when issuing a summons, to dispense with your personal attendance and permit you to appear through your advocate. This is a routine facility in summons-triable cases and in many warrant cases where the hearing is administrative or procedural rather than substantive. Your lawyer files an application for exemption from personal attendance — an "EA application" in Bihar court parlance — undertaking that you will appear personally whenever the court genuinely requires your presence, such as at the stage of recording your statement under Section 351 BNSS. Courts at Patna's CJM complex and the Magistrate courts grant these exemptions routinely in appropriate cases.

What you must never do is simply ignore the summons or leave it unresponded to. Non-appearance without a filed exemption application — or without your counsel appearing on your behalf — is what leads the Magistrate to issue a warrant. A warrant converts a manageable situation into an urgent one, often at the worst possible moment. The correct response is proactive: engage counsel immediately, have them appear on the first date, and simultaneously file the exemption application. Even with an exemption in place, the Magistrate retains the power under Section 228 BNSS to require your personal presence at any stage. The criminal advocates at the Patna panel of Aapka Legal Advice can appear for you at the Patna Magistrate courts and file the exemption application so your matter moves forward without disrupting your professional or personal life unnecessarily.