This question has become increasingly common as digital evidence grows in prominence across all categories of Vadodara criminal cases — from financial disputes in the city's commercial sectors to matrimonial matters and property conflicts. Let me give you an honest and calibrated answer rather than either a false reassurance or an unnecessary alarm.

The Vadodara Police Commissionerate and other Gujarat Police officers have the statutory power to seize property considered relevant to an investigation under Section 106 of the BNSS (formerly Section 102 CrPC). Where a seizure is being conducted lawfully, physically obstructing it can itself constitute an offence under the BNS. A flat refusal is therefore not the wise or legally safe response. What you can and should do is insist firmly on every procedural protection the law provides. Demand that the seizure be documented in a proper seizure memo or panchnama that specifically lists your device, its model, its IMEI or serial number, the date and time of seizure, and the presence of independent witnesses. The BNSS requires search and seizure operations to be recorded through audio-video electronic means — if this is not being done, note the omission carefully as a procedural flaw that can be raised later in your defence.

The more sensitive question is whether you must provide your password or unlock your device. Your constitutional protection under Article 20(3) against self-incrimination applies here, and the legal debate on whether this protection extends to device access and decryption is genuinely unsettled and actively litigated. Do not volunteer your password reflexively — but equally, do not make a confrontational refusal that creates an unnecessary confrontation. The correct response is to say that you wish to consult your lawyer before providing access to any data, and then do so immediately. Having a criminal defence advocate from the Vadodara panel of Aapka Legal Advice available by phone during any search at your premises is practically achievable and genuinely protective. Allow the lawful, documented seizure calmly, protect yourself on the procedural record, and do not sign anything without reading it.