CHAPTER XXXVIII LIMITATION FOR TAKING COGNIZANCE OF CERTAIN OFFENCES

Section 514: Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of period of limitation

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Sanhita, no Court shall take cognizance of an offence of the category specified in sub-section (2), after the expiry of the period of limitation.

(2) The period of limitation shall be—

(a) six months, if the offence is punishable with fine only;

(b) one year, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year;

(c) three years, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the period of limitation, in relation to offences which may be tried together, shall be determined with reference to the offence which is punishable with the more severe punishment or, as the case may be, the most severe punishment.

Explanation.—For the purpose of computing the period of limitation, the relevant date shall be the date of filing complaint under section 223 or the date of recording of information under section 173.

Corresponding CrPC provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

514	468. Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of the period of limitation.

Questions on this section

4 questions in 18 of our papers cite Section 514. Try these from the free papers:

1. X commits two offences that may be tried together: one punishable with fine only, and the other punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years. Both were known to the aggrieved person on the day they were committed. A complaint for both offences is filed twenty months later. Under Chapter XXXVIII of the BNSS, cognizance is
2. In Sarah Mathew v. Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases, (2014) 2 SCC 62, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that, for computing the period of limitation under Section 468 CrPC (now Section 514 BNSS), the relevant date is:
3. An offence punishable with fine only was committed on 10 January 2025. Neither the person aggrieved nor any police officer knew of it until 1 March 2025, when it came to the knowledge of the person aggrieved. The person aggrieved filed a complaint on 20 August 2025. Under Chapter XXXVIII of the BNSS, is the complaint within the period of limitation?

Practise questions on Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita