Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offense

An offence is a crime that breaks a particular law and requires a particular punishment.1

Offense means an illegal act or a crime 2further crime could be defined as an action or

omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.3

“Offence” means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in
force and includes any act in respect of which a complaint may be made under
section 20 of the Cattle-trespass Act, 1871 (1 of 1871).4

So from the above definition it is clear that offense is both an act and omission which is
penalize under the law of the land.

Under Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 offense is classified into two categories:

1. Cognizable offenses - Section 2(c) of Cr.P.C. defines it to be an offence in which the

police officer can arrest the convict without a warrant and can start investigation
without the due permission of the court. 5
2. Non-Cognizable offense - Section 2(1) of Cr.P.C. defines Non-cognizable Offence. It
refers to it as an offence for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without a
warrant. 6

Further offenses are also classified under bailable and non-bailable offense.

Bailable offense means an offence which is shown as bailable in the First Schedule, or which
is made bailable by any other law for the time being in force; and" non- bailable offence"
means any other offence.7

Offenses are further classified under compoundable and non- compoundable offense.

Compoundable offense - Compoundable offences are those offences where, the complainant
(one who has filed the case, i.e. the victim), enter into a compromise, and agrees to have the

1
Collins Dictionary
2
Cambridge Dictionary
3
https://www.lexico.com/definition/crime
4
Section 2(n) of CRPC
5
Section 2 (c) of CRPC
6
Section 2 (1) of CRPC
7
Section 2(a) of CRPC
charges dropped against the accused. However such a compromise, should be a "Bonafide,"
and not for any consideration to which the complainant is not entitled to.

Non Compoundable offense - There are some offences, which cannot be compounded. They
can only be quashed. The reason for this is, because the nature of offence is so grave and
criminal, that the Accused cannot be allowed to go scot-free. Hence in these type of case it is
the state ie police who has filed the case and hence there is no question arises that the
complainant enter into compromise.

Here our focus is basically on Cognizable and Non cognizable offense.

 Difference between Cognizable and Non cognizable offense

There is no as such guidelines given under the code to decide whthere an offense is
cognizable or non-cognizable. It all depends on the whether it is shown as cognizable
or non cognizable in the First Schedule of the Code. That schedule refers to all the
offenses under the Indian Penal Code of 1872 and puts them into the cognizabe and
non-cognizable categories. This classification is on the basis of different consideration
but we can say that broadly all serious and heinous offense are put under the category
of cognizable offense. We can note here that offenses under the laws other than the
IPC which are punishable with the imprisonment of three or more have been shown in
the First Schedule as cognizable and those punishable with less than three years have
been shown as non-cognizable. Ofcourse this rule is subject to any rule to the contrary
provided in that law.

In the case of a cognizable offense , the accused person could be arrested by the
police officer without any warrant or authority and even can do investigation without
any orders or direction from the Magistrate. 8Moreover, the police officer is bounded
by the legal duty to exercise above-said power in respect of a cognizable offense. 9
In case of a non-cognizable offence, generally arrest could not be made without a
10
warrant. , and further there is no power or legal duty caste on police officer to
investigate such offense without the permission by a Judicial Magistrate. 11However if
a non-cognizable offense is committed in the immediate presence of a police officer,
and the person who commit the offense refuses to give his name and address the
police officer can arrest him without warrant to obtain his real name and address. 12
Leving the exceptions the non-cognizable offences are considered as nature of private
wrong. If a Judicial Magistrate by its application of Judicial Mind considers that the
investigation of non-cognizable case should be done by police officer then he can
order the police to do so. In such situation the police officer will have all the powers
in respect of investigation barring the power to arrest without warrant which he could

8
Section 156(1) and 157 of CRPC
9
Section 157 of the CRPC and Section 23 and 29 of the Police Act,1861.
10
Section 2(l) of CRPC
11
Section 155(2) of CRPC
12
Section 42 of CRPC
 do if case was cognizable one. 13In a case if there are two or more offense and at least
one of it is cognizable then the case shall be treated as cognizable irrespective of the
fact that the other offences are non-cognizable.14

Examples of Cognizable offense:-

1. Offences of waging or attempting to wage war, or abetting the waging of war against
the government of India.

2. Wearing the dress or carrying any token used by a soldier, sailor or airman with intent
that it may be believed that he is such a soldier, sailor or airman.

3. Rioting armed with deadly weapon.

4. Hiring, engaging or employing person to take part in an unlawful assembly or taking

part in self.
5. Being or expecting to be a public servant, and taking, and taking a gratification other
than legal remuneration in respect of an official act.

6. Public servant obtaining any valuable thinks, without consideration, from a person
concerned in any proceeding or business transacted by such public servant.

7. Counterfeiting, or performing any pat of the process of counterfeiting Indian coin.

8. Having possession of a counterfeit government stamp.

9. Making or selling false weights or measures for fraudulent use.

10. Negligently doing any act known to be likely to spread infection of any disease
dangerous to life.

11. Causing a disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worships.

13
Section 155(2) and Section 155(3)
14
Section 155(4)
 Examples of Non-Cognizable Cases:-

1. Owner or occupier of land not giving information of riot etc.

2. A public servant disobeying a direction of the law with intent to cause injury to any
person.

3. A public servant unlawfully engaging in trade.

4. Bribery during elections.

5. Making any false statement in connection with an election.

6. Absconding to avoid service of summons or other proceeding from a public servant,

like where summons or notice require attendance in person etc, in a court of justice.

7. Refusing to take oath when duly required taking oath by a pubic servant.
8. Obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions.

9. Giving or fabricating false evidence in a judicial proceeding.

10. False claim in a court of justice.

11. Fraudulent use of false instrument for weighting.

12. Selling any food or drink as food and drink knowing the same to be noxious.

13. Offering for sale or issuing from a dispensary any drug or medical preparation known
to have been adulterated.

14. Voluntarily causing hurt on grave and sudden provocation, not intending to hurt any
other than the person, who gave the provocation.
15. Buying or disposing of any person as a slave.

16. Dishonest misappropriation of movable property, or converting it to one's own use.

Above are the few examples of Cognizable and Non cognizable offense the list is
not exhaustive.
 Conclusion and Suggestions

1. The offence in which the police suo motu takes cognizance of crime and also does not
need approval of court, known as a cognizable offence. While, in non-cognizable,
police has no authority to arrest a person for crime on its own, without prior approval
of court.

2. In cognizable, the police can arrest a person without any warrant. While, in case of
non-cognizable offence, a warrant must needed for arrest of person.

3. In cognizable, court’s order is not required to start an investigation. Conversely, in the

non-cognizable offence, first of all, court’s order should be obtained for undertaking
an investigation.

4. Cognizable are heinous crimes, whereas non-cognizable offences are not so serious.

5. Cognizable encompasses murder, rape, theft, kidnapping, counterfeiting, etc. On the

contrary, non-cognizable offences include offences like forgery, cheating, assault,
defamation and so forth.

6. For a cognizable, one can file FIR or make a complaint to the magistrate. Unlike, in
case of non-cognizable offence one can only make a complaint to the magistrate

Many times, early and effective investigation can be the difference between winning and
losing a case. Different types of cases require different investigative techniques. An
investigation refers to the process of collecting information in order to reach some goal. Since
the Cognizable and Non-cognizable offences are different in nature thus both need different
kind of investigation procedure. The CrPC was written in 1973. Ever since, multiple
judgments of the apex court such as Joginder Kumar (1994), DK Basu (1997) as well as Law
Commission Reports (154th, 177th) critiqued the wide powers of arrest for cognisable
offences. This led to the 2009 amendment which restricted the power to arrest, to persons
against whom “a reasonable complaint” or “reasonable suspicion” exists, or “credible
information” is received, of having “committed a cognisable offence.” Even so, the CrPC
neither deters arbitrary arrests, nor comprises incentives for carrying out arrests consistent
with the individual liberty and autonomy of individuals, A code that does not compel the
police to constantly be accountable to individual liberty and the Constitution is merely a
police procedure manual, After Puttaswamy’s emphatic recognition of the right to privacy as
autonomy, inherent in individual dignity, it is imperative that we rethink the powers to arrest
for cognisable offences against the state and against public tranquility. For the CrPC to truly
realise criminal justice, we might even profitably reimagine the very concept of a cognisable
offence as we presently know it.15

15
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/in-pursuit-of-an-ideal-criminal-process/article29577443.ece