Cognizable offence:
- A cognizable offence is an offence in which a police officer can arrest an accused without a warrant.
- A cognizable offence is punishable with the imprisonment of 3 years or upwards, or life imprisonment, or death sentence.
- Examples: murder, rape, theft, etc.
Procedure of investigation by a police officer in ‘cognizable offence’:
1. Primarily, the First Information Report is prepared by a police officer.
The first step in criminal proceedings is the registration of FIR by a police officer. Section 154(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Hereinafter referred as “CrPC”) embodies that the information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence must be written by an officer in charge of the police station and must be read over to the informant.
2. A police officer can initiate an investigation without the order of a magistrate.
For investigating a cognizable offence, an officer in charge of the police station possesses the power to initiate an investigation without the order of a concerned magistrate. This power is conferred to him under Section 156 of CrPC.
3. A police officer can arrest an accused without a warrant.
A police officer is vested with the power under Section 41 of CrPC, to arrest an accused without a warrant and without an order from the magistrate, if the accused has been concerned in a cognizable offence, or a reasonable complaint has been made against him, or a reasonable suspicion exists, of his having been so concerned in such offence.
4. A police officer has to send a report regarding commission of a cognizable offence to the concerned magistrate.
Section 157 of CrPC makes it mandatory that if an officer in charge of the police station suspects the commission of a cognizable offence, then he has to send a report regarding the same to the concerned magistrate.
5. A police officer can order for the discovery and arrest of the accused.
Section 157 of CrPC authorizes an officer in charge of the police station to either proceed himself or to depute one of his subordinate officers to proceed to the spot in order to investigate the facts and circumstances of the case, and, if necessary, to take measures for the discovery and arrest of the accused.
6. A police officer can order for attendance of witness before himself for the examination of witness.
Section 160 of CrPC empowers the police officer who is making an investigation to call upon a person before himself, whom he thinks to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case. Section 161 of CrPC empowers him to examine the witnesses orally.
7. A police officer can search without search warrants.
Section 165 of CrPC, authorizes an officer in charge of the police station to search any place without a search warrant, provided, he must have reasonable grounds for believing the search to be pivotal for the purpose of investigation of the offence for which he is authorized to investigate, and according to him any undue delay would have hindered the investigation process, then after recording the reasons for conducting the search in writing, he can commence the search.
8. A police officer has to release the accused when evidence is deficient.
According to the provisions of Section 169 of CrPC, when an officer in charge of the police station founds no sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of suspicion to justify the forwarding of the accused to a magistrate, then he is authorized to release him from the custody by executing a bond.
9. A police officer has to send the case to the magistrate when evidence is sufficient.
Section 170 of CrPC embodies that when an officer in charge of the police station founds sufficient evidence or reasonable ground against an accused, then such officer shall forward the accused under the custody of a magistrate, empowered to take cognizance of the offence.
10. A police officer has to maintain diary of proceedings in an investigation.
Section 172 of CrPC makes it mandatory that a police officer making an investigation shall day by day enter his proceedings of the investigation in a diary. It includes the time at which the information reached him, the time at which he began and closed his investigation, the place or places visited by him, and a statement of the circumstances ascertained through his investigation and also the recorded statements of witnesses during the course of investigation.
11. A police officer has to send a report on the completion of investigation to concerned magistrate.
As per the provisions of Section 173 of CrPC, the officer in charge of the police station has to send a report to the concerned magistrate on the completion of investigation, which consists of the details pertaining to the offence, parties involved and the information discovered during the process of investigation.
12. Procedure of investigation when investigation can’t be completed within 24 hours.
Section 167 of CrPC incorporates provisions regarding the arrest of an accused without a warrant when police can’t complete the investigation within the span of 24 hours.
It provides that when an accused is arrested and detained in custody and the investigation can’t be completed within the period of 24 hours, prescribed in Section 57 of CrPC and there are grounds for believing that the accusation is well founded, the officer in charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation (if he is not below the rank of sub-inspector), shall forward to the nearest judicial magistrate, a copy of the entries in the diary along with the accused.
Non-cognizable offence:
- A non-cognizable offence is an offence in which a police officer has no authority to arrest an accused without a warrant.
- A non-cognizable offence is punishable with the imprisonment of less than 3 years or with fine only.
- Examples: hurt, defamation .etc.
Procedure of investigation by a police officer in ‘non-cognizable offence’:
1. A police officer can’t investigate a non-cognizable offence without the order of a concerned magistrate.
As per the provisions of Section 155(2) of CrPC, no police officer can investigate a non-cognizable offence without the order of a concerned magistrate.
2. On receiving the order of a concerned Magistrate, a police officer can investigate the case with same powers, which he can exercise in a cognizable offence.
Section 155(3) of CrPC specifies that a police officer upon receiving the order of a concerned magistrate to investigate a non-cognizable offence can exercise same powers for the purpose of investigation which an officer in charge of the police station can exercise for investigation in a cognizable offence. However, Section 155(3) doesn’t authorize a police officer to arrest the accused without a warrant.
Thus, after the order has been received by a police officer from the concerned magistrate to initiate an investigation in a non-cognizable offence, the procedure of investigation becomes the same as in the case of cognizable offence.
Conclusion:
The procedure of investigation by a police officer incognizable and the non-cognizable offence is almost similar except certain distinctions, as enumerated hereunder:
1. In a cognizable offence, a police officer is authorized to initiate an investigation without the order of a concerned magistrate. While, in a non-cognizable offence a police officer can’t initiate an investigation without the order of a concerned magistrate.
2. In a cognizable offence, a police officer is authorized to arrest an accused without a warrant. While, in non-cognizable offence a police officer can’t arrest an accused without a warrant.
Hence, first and foremost the procedure of investigation is not same in cognizable and non-cognizable offence, as non-cognizable offence requires an order of a concerned magistrate for the commencement of an investigation. But as soon as the order for commencement of an investigation is received by a police officer from the concerned magistrate, the procedure of investigation becomes similar to the procedure of investigation in a cognizable offence. The police officer vests with the same power and can follow all those steps, which an officer in charge of the police station can follow in an investigation of a cognizable offence, but with an exception of power to arrest an accused without a warrant, as he is not authorized for the same in a non-cognizable offence.
This article is authored Vipul Pathak, Second-Year, B.A. LL.B student at CLS-GIBS
Also Read – What Is The Procedure Of Arrest?
