Cognizable offence
Added Last checked against India Code
An offence for which police can arrest without a warrant and start investigating without a Magistrate's order. Defined in Section 2(1)(g) BNSS (old Section 2(c) CrPC).
- Arrest
- Without a warrant
- Investigation
- Without a Magistrate's order
- Listed in
- First Schedule, BNSS
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What it means
A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest without a warrant. In such cases the police can also begin investigating on their own, without waiting for a Magistrate's order.
A non-cognizable offence is the opposite. The police record the information in a register and refer you to the Magistrate. They can investigate only after the Magistrate orders it.
Whether an offence is cognizable is not a matter of opinion. The First Schedule to the BNSS classifies every offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and other laws say so for their own offences.
As a rough guide, the more serious the offence, the more likely it is to be cognizable, but that is only a guide. The entry in the First Schedule, or the special law that creates the offence, is the only reliable test.
The law
| Current provision | Replaced |
|---|---|
| Section 2(1)(g), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023Definition of "cognizable offence" | Section 2(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 |
| First Schedule, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023Classification of offences | First Schedule, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 |
When it matters
- Deciding whether the police must register an FIR or send you to the Magistrate.
- Judging how quickly an arrest can happen after a complaint.
- Choosing the remedy: an FIR for a cognizable offence, a complaint to the Magistrate for a non-cognizable one.
- Reading a case against you: the same First Schedule entry also tells you whether the offence is bailable and which court tries it.
Example
Theft is cognizable, so the police register an FIR and investigate straight away. Defamation is non-cognizable, so a person who has been defamed files a complaint before the Magistrate instead.
Watch out for
- Cognizable does not mean non-bailable. Many cognizable offences are bailable. The First Schedule lists both columns separately.
- Some special laws make offences cognizable that would otherwise not be. The Domestic Violence Act does this for breach of a protection order.
- The label changes how a case starts. Information about a cognizable offence goes to the police as an FIR. For a non-cognizable offence the police note it in a register and the Magistrate decides whether it should be investigated.
Reporting a crime?
A criminal lawyer can help you put the complaint in writing and follow it up.
Worried about arrest?
Speak to a criminal lawyer before you meet the police. It costs nothing to enquire.
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Last checked against the official text on India Code on 6 Nov 2026. This is general information on Indian law, not legal advice for your situation. Laws and court rulings change; a lawyer can tell you how they apply to your facts.