Cognizable Vs Non-Cognizable offences under BNSS

A Cognizable Offence is a serious category of criminal offence where a police officer has the statutory authority to arrest the accused without a warrant from a Magistrate and can initiate an investigation without requiring prior magisterial permission.

A Non-Cognizable Offence is a less serious crime where a police officer has no authority to arrest the accused without an arrest warrant issued by a competent Magistrate and cannot investigate the case without the specific direction and sanction of a Magistrate.

Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, these classifications are codified under Section 2, governing police procedures, FIR registrations, and investigative protocols.

Distinction Between Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offences under BNSS, 2023

Basis of Distinction	Cognizable Offence	Non-Cognizable Offence
Statutory Definition	Defined under Section 2(1)(g) of BNSS, 2023 as an offence for which a police officer may arrest without a warrant in accordance with the First Schedule or any other law.	Defined under Section 2(1)(o) of BNSS, 2023 as an offence for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without a warrant.
Power of Arrest	Police can arrest the accused without a warrant issued by a Magistrate.	Police cannot arrest the accused without a valid warrant issued by a competent Magistrate.
Initiation of Information	Information given to police is registered as a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 173 of BNSS, 2023 (formerly Section 154 CrPC).	Information is recorded as a Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) in the station diary under Section 174 of BNSS, 2023 (formerly Section 155 CrPC).
Investigation Authority	Police have the statutory power and duty to investigate without an order of a Magistrate (Section 175 BNSS).	Police cannot investigate without the specific order/sanction of a Magistrate having jurisdiction (Section 174(2) BNSS).
Nature & Gravity	Relates to grave, heinous, and public wrongs that pose a direct threat to societal peace and safety.	Relates to minor, less grave private wrongs or petty disputes between individuals.
Submission of Final Report	Upon concluding investigation, the police submit a Police Report / Chargesheet to the Magistrate under Section 193 of BNSS, 2023.	If investigated under a Magistrate’s order, the police report is submitted, which is treated as a complaint under Section 2(1)(h) BNSS.
Combined Offences (Section 174(4) BNSS)	Where a case involves two or more offences, of which at least one is cognizable, the case is deemed to be a cognizable case, notwithstanding that the other offences are non-cognizable.	Applies only when all alleged offences are purely non-cognizable in nature.
Statutory Examples	Murder (Section 103 BNS), Rape (Section 64 BNS), Robbery (Section 309 BNS), Kidnapping, Dowry Death.	Simple Hurt (Section 115(2) BNS), Defamation (Section 356 BNS), Public Nuisance, Criminal Intimidation (Section 351(2) BNS).