Sections 154 and 155 CrPC: Information in Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Cases
Sections 154 and 155 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 governed the manner in which information about cognizable and non-cognizable offences was received by the police and the circumstances in which investigation could begin under the CrPC framework.
- Section 154 CrPC dealt with information relating to commission of a cognizable offence, including recording of the information and supply of a free copy to the informant.
- Section 155 CrPC dealt with information concerning a non-cognizable offence and ordinarily required an order of the competent Magistrate before police investigation.
- If a case involved two or more offences and at least one was cognizable, Section 155(4) treated the case as cognizable.
Meaning of Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offences under the CrPC
Under Section 2(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, a cognizable offence meant an offence for which, and a cognizable case meant a case in which, a police officer could arrest without warrant in accordance with the First Schedule or any other law in force.
Under Section 2(l), a non-cognizable offence meant an offence for which, and a non-cognizable case meant a case in which, a police officer had no authority to arrest without warrant.
Section 154 CrPC - Information in Cognizable Cases
Section 154 laid down the statutory procedure for recording information relating to commission of a cognizable offence. It formed the principal CrPC provision governing registration of the first information concerning such an offence.
Section 154(1): Recording the Information
Where information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence was given orally to the officer in charge of a police station, it was required to be reduced to writing by that officer or under the officer's direction and read over to the informant. Information given in writing, or reduced to writing, was to be signed by the person giving it, and its substance entered in the prescribed book.
Special Safeguards for Certain Offences Against Women
The provisos to Section 154(1), introduced and amended through criminal law reforms, prescribed safeguards for recording information relating to specified offences against women. In the cases covered by the provision, information was to be recorded by a woman police officer or woman officer.
Where the person against whom specified offences were alleged was temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, the provision required recording at the person's residence or another convenient place, in the presence of an interpreter or special educator, as applicable. The recording was to be videographed, and the police officer was required to have the person's statement recorded by a Judicial Magistrate under Section 164(5A)(a) as soon as possible.
Section 154(2): Free Copy to Informant
A copy of the information recorded under Section 154(1) was required to be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant.
Section 154(3): Remedy When Police Refused to Record Information
A person aggrieved by refusal of the officer in charge of a police station to record information contemplated by Section 154(1) could send the substance of the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police concerned. If satisfied that the information disclosed commission of a cognizable offence, the Superintendent of Police could investigate personally or direct investigation by a subordinate police officer, who would have the powers of an officer in charge of the police station in relation to that offence.
State Amendments to Section 154 CrPC
Chhattisgarh
The page's pre-BNSS statutory material records a Chhattisgarh amendment to the first proviso to Section 154(1), substituting the reference so as to include Sections 509A and 509B along with Section 509. The source identifies Chhattisgarh Act 25 of 2015, Section 7.
Arunachal Pradesh
The pre-BNSS material also records an Arunachal Pradesh amendment adding references including Sections 376AA and 376DA in the specified portions of Section 154. The source identifies Arunachal Pradesh Act 3 of 2019, Section 13.
Section 155 CrPC - Information in Non-Cognizable Cases and Investigation
Section 155 prescribed a different procedure where the information related to a non-cognizable offence.
Section 155(1): Entry and Reference to Magistrate
When information was given to the officer in charge of a police station concerning commission, within the limits of that station, of a non-cognizable offence, the officer was required to enter or cause the substance of the information to be entered in the prescribed book and refer the informant to the Magistrate.
Section 155(2): Magistrate's Order Required for Investigation
A police officer could not investigate a non-cognizable case without an order of a Magistrate having power to try the case or commit it for trial.
Section 155(3): Police Powers After the Magistrate's Order
After receiving the Magistrate's order, the police officer could exercise the same investigative powers as an officer in charge of a police station could exercise in a cognizable case, except the power to arrest without warrant.
Section 155(4): Cases Containing Both Types of Offences
Where a case related to two or more offences and at least one of them was cognizable, the entire case was deemed to be a cognizable case even though the other offences were non-cognizable.
Practical Difference Between Sections 154 and 155 CrPC
The essential distinction was the nature of the offence and the resulting police power. Information disclosing a cognizable offence attracted Section 154 and enabled investigation in accordance with the CrPC without first obtaining the type of Magistrate's order required by Section 155(2). For a purely non-cognizable case, the police recorded the information and referred the informant to the Magistrate, and investigation required the Magistrate's order.
Related CrPC Provisions
Sections 154 and 155 should be read with the succeeding investigation provisions. In particular, Sections 156 to 159 CrPC dealt with police power and procedure for investigation of cognizable cases, reports and the Magistrate's powers concerning investigation or preliminary inquiry.
Note: This page is an explanatory presentation of the pre-BNSS CrPC provisions. For the exact statutory text, amendments and application to a particular proceeding, the applicable official enactment and relevant judicial decisions should be checked.