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CHAPTER XII INFORMATION TO THE POLICE AND THEIR POWERS TO INVESTIGATE

Section 154: Information in cognizable cases

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (repealed)

Repealed by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024.

(1) Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf:

1[Provided that if the information is given by the woman against whom an offence under section 326A, section 326B, section 354, section 354A, section 354B, section 354C, section 354D, section 376, 2[section 376A, section 376AB, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D, section 376DA, section 376DB], section 376E or section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is alleged to have been committed or attempted, then such information shall be recorded, by a woman police officer or any woman officer:

Provided further that—

(a) in the event that the person against whom an offence under section 354, section 354A, section 354B, section 354C, section 354D, section 376, 2[section 376A, section 376AB, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D, section 376DA, section 376DB], section 376E or section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is alleged to have been committed or attempted, is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, then such information shall be recorded by a police officer, at the residence of the person seeking to report such offence or at a convenient place of such person’s choice, in the presence of an interpreter or a special educator, as the case may be;

(b) the recording of such information shall be videographed;

(c) the police officer shall get the statement of the person recorded by a Judicial Magistrate under clause (a) of sub-section (5A) of section 164 as soon as possible.]

(2) A copy of the information as recorded under sub-section (1) shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant.

(3) Any person aggrieved by a refusal on the part of an officer in charge of a police station to record the information referred to in sub-section (1) may send the substance of such information, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer subordinate to him, in the manner provided by this Code, and such officer shall have all the powers of an officer in charge of the police station in relation to that offence.

State Amendment (as printed in the official text)

Chhattisgarh

In first proviso to sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (here-in-after referred to as the Code) for the words and figure “or section 509” the words, figures, letters and punctuations, “ section 509, section 509A or section 509B” shall be substituted.

[Vide Chhattisgarh Act 25 of 2015, s. 7.]

Footnotes in the official text

  1. 1.Ins. by Act 13 of 2013, s. 13 (w.e.f. 3-2-2013).
  2. 2.Subs. by Act 22 of 2018, s. 11, for “section 376A, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D” (w.e.f. 21-4-2019).

Now in the BNSS

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

154. Information in cognizable cases.BNSS 173(3)

Leading cases

Questions on this section

5 questions in 22 of our papers cite Section 154. Try these from the free papers:

  1. 1. P's application under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 asking the Magistrate to direct an investigation is rejected. P later gives the police information disclosing a cognizable offence on substantially the same allegations, and an FIR is registered. The accused seeks quashing, relying on the earlier rejection. Following Pramod Kumar Shukla v. State of Uttar Pradesh (19 August 2026):

  2. 2. Consider the following statements about the directions in Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P. (Constitution Bench, 2013), as they now stand: 1. Registration of an FIR under Section 154 CrPC is mandatory if the information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence. 2. Where a preliminary inquiry is permissible, its purpose is to verify whether the information received is true. 3. A preliminary inquiry should generally not exceed 15 days, and in exceptional cases, for adequate reasons, six weeks. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  3. 3. The words "irrespective of the area where the offence is committed" in Section 173(1) BNSS give statutory recognition to the registration of a:

Practise questions on Criminal Law