# Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach
**Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach** is the third season of the Indian Hindi-language crime drama series *Criminal Justice*, released on [Disney+ Hotstar](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-hotstar) on 26 August 2022. Directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Applause Entertainment in association with [BBC Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-studios), it brings back [Pankaj Tripathi](https://www.edgepedia.org/pankaj-tripathi) as the lawyer Madhav Mishra, who defends a teenager accused of murdering his older sister, a teenage social-media star.[1](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/pankaj-tripathi-and-shweta-basu-prasad-on-season-3-of-criminal-justice/cid/1881845) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/criminal-justice-season-3-review-pankaj-tripathi-lifts-an-engaging-series-8112574/lite/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Season position | Third installment of the *Criminal Justice* franchise, following season 1 (2019) and *Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors* (2020)[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/criminal-justice/) |
| Release | 26 August 2022, Disney+ Hotstar; eight episodes to 7 October 2022[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590) |
| Format | Hindi crime drama and mystery, 16+ certificate, episodes of roughly 38 to 46 minutes; dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590) |
| Key crew | Director Rohan Sippy; writer Bijesh Jayarajan; production BBC Studios India and Applause Entertainment[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590) |
| Lead cast | Pankaj Tripathi (Madhav Mishra), Shweta Basu Prasad (Adv. Lekha Piramal), Swastika Mukherjee (Avantika Ahuja), Purab Kohli (Neeraj Ahuja), Aaditya Gupta (Mukul Ahuja), Deshna Dugad (Zara Ahuja)[5](https://www.wikibiodata.com/criminal-justice-adhura-sach-cast/) |
| Subject | Juvenile justice in India; a lawyer must uncover his own client's lies to secure justice[1](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/pankaj-tripathi-and-shweta-basu-prasad-on-season-3-of-criminal-justice/cid/1881845) • [4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
The season opens with the disappearance and death of Zara Ahuja, a teenage superstar, after an altercation with her brother Mukul, who resents her; police find evidence at the crime scene against Mukul, who becomes the prime suspect.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/criminal_justice_adhura_sach/s01) Madhav Mishra is brought in to defend the boy, but the client is displeased with his lawyer and the case escalates when public prosecutor Lekha proposes an adult trial for the juvenile accused.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/criminal_justice_adhura_sach/s01)
Over eight episodes the series intercuts legal proceedings with police procedure and family drama. Mukul's lies about his feelings toward his sister surface through a dictaphone recording; his stepfather Neeraj decides to testify against him; and in the finale, "Truth, The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth", Madhav produces three new witnesses in his quest to raise reasonable doubt.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/criminal_justice_adhura_sach/s01) The season touches on party drug use among young people, the reach of social media, and the difficulty of parenting teenagers in a hyper-connected environment.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/criminal-justice-season-3-review-pankaj-tripathi-lifts-an-engaging-series-8112574/lite/)
### Episodes
The eight episodes, with their Disney+ Hotstar release dates, were:[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590)
1. "A Dark Night" (26 August 2022)
2. "Web of Lies" (26 August 2022)
3. "Bail Denied" (2 September 2022)
4. "Section 15" (9 September 2022)
5. "Confirmation Bias" (16 September 2022)
6. "The Breaking Point" (23 September 2022)
7. "Digging Deeper" (30 September 2022)
8. "Nothing but the Truth" (7 October 2022)
## Production and context
The *Criminal Justice* franchise adapts the 2008 British series of the same name, and its Indian version was penned by Shridhar Raghavan, with the first season directed by [Tigmanshu Dhulia](https://www.edgepedia.org/tigmanshu-dhulia) and Vishal Furia.[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/criminal-justice/) Shweta Basu Prasad, who plays the opposing counsel Lekha, said the third season is an original script rather than an adaptation, and that the case interested her enough to read it in one go.[1](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/pankaj-tripathi-and-shweta-basu-prasad-on-season-3-of-criminal-justice/cid/1881845) Pankaj Tripathi, asked about returning to the role a third time, said the comfort remained and that fatigue sets in only from a fourth or fifth season; apart from his character and his wife Ratna (Khushboo Atre), the cast, situations, and case were all new.[1](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/pankaj-tripathi-and-shweta-basu-prasad-on-season-3-of-criminal-justice/cid/1881845)
The season was produced under the premium Hotstar Specials banner and focuses on the Indian juvenile judicial system.[7](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2021/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_18-24_Oct_2021.pdf) A fourth season, *[Criminal Justice: A Family Matter](https://www.edgepedia.org/criminal-justice-a-family-matter)*, was later announced by Disney+ Hotstar.[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/criminal-justice/)
## Reception
Reviewers consistently singled out Tripathi's performance. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote that his "implacable good cheer" lifts the series past its occasional clunkiness and staginess, though her published rating was 0.5 out of 5.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/criminal-justice-season-3-review-pankaj-tripathi-lifts-an-engaging-series-8112574/lite/) The Times of India gave the season a critic's rating of 3.0, calling it "an engaging legal drama with emotionally dragging scenes".[8](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/criminal-justice/seriesreview/77285835.cms) Scroll.in's review suggested the show could better have been titled "Better Call Madhav", noting that it is a Pankaj Tripathi show from his first courtroom appearance, while Firstpost's Manik Sharma found the season overly reliant on Tripathi and criticized its portrayal of the young characters as flashy and unconvincing.[9](https://apnlive.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-3-review/) On Gadgets 360 the season held a user rating of 3.7 out of 5, and in Ormax Media's tracking of the most-buzzing Hindi streaming shows of 2022 it scored 14, placing it behind *Panchayat S2* (34) and *Rudra: The Edge of Darkness* (27).[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590) • [10](https://www.ormaxmedia.com/data/library/StreamingOriginals-The2022Story-OrmaxMedia.pdf)
## References
1. [Pankaj Tripathi and Shweta Basu Prasad on Criminal Justice S3, The Telegraph India](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/pankaj-tripathi-and-shweta-basu-prasad-on-season-3-of-criminal-justice/cid/1881845)
2. [Criminal Justice Season 3 review: Pankaj Tripathi lifts an engaging series, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/criminal-justice-season-3-review-pankaj-tripathi-lifts-an-engaging-series-8112574/lite/)
3. [Criminal Justice News: Latest Updates, Cast & Reviews, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/about/criminal-justice/)
4. [Criminal Justice Adhura Sach Web Series (2022), Gadgets 360](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-season-3-web-series-106590)
5. [Criminal Justice Adhura Sach (Hotstar) Cast & Crew, WikiBioData](https://www.wikibiodata.com/criminal-justice-adhura-sach-cast/)
6. [Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/criminal_justice_adhura_sach/s01)
7. [ContentAsia formats eNewsletter, 18-24 October 2021](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2021/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_18-24_Oct_2021.pdf)
8. [Criminal Justice series review, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/criminal-justice/seriesreview/77285835.cms)
9. [Criminal Justice season 3: A reel of reviews, APN News](https://apnlive.com/entertainment/criminal-justice-3-review/)
10. [Streaming Originals: The 2022 Story, Ormax Media](https://www.ormaxmedia.com/data/library/StreamingOriginals-The2022Story-OrmaxMedia.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Hindi serials and Indian Hindi-language dramas › Crime and thriller serials*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license