Cognizable Offences

A cognizable offence is one for which police may arrest without a warrant, in accordance with the First Schedule of the applicable procedural law or another law in force. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, this classification also allows police to register information and begin investigation without first obtaining a Magistrate's order.

Authority triggered by the classification

The classification permits police to initiate the criminal process without first obtaining judicial permission.

• Under Section 173, information disclosing a cognizable offence may be recorded by police as a First Information Report.
• Under Section 175, the officer in charge of a police station may investigate a cognizable case without an order from a Magistrate.
• During investigation, police may collect evidence and exercise statutory powers of search and seizure, subject to the procedures and safeguards in the BNSS.

Power of arrest

Under Section 35 of the BNSS, police may arrest without a warrant in cognizable cases when the prescribed legal conditions are satisfied. Cognizability therefore removes the need to obtain a warrant beforehand, but it does not make arrest automatic or mandatory.

• For specified offences punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, the officer must satisfy statutory necessity conditions and record reasons for making, or not making, the arrest.
• The classification of an offence as cognizable is distinct from its classification as bailable or non-bailable.

Constitutional and procedural limits

Police authority remains controlled by Article 21, which requires a just, fair and lawful procedure, and Article 22, which provides safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention.

• An arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest and allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner.
• The arrested person must ordinarily be produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours, excluding journey time, and further custody requires judicial authority.