Difference Between Cognizable & Non-Cognizable Offence: In India, awareness of the various kinds of offenses is very important both for the authorities working under the legal framework of India and for the common public. The distinction between cognizable and non-cognizable offenses forms a very basic requirement of criminal law, outlining how the authorities should react to a crime and how they should proceed with investigations. This information is very useful in understanding the police powers, the rights of the accused, and other procedures related to it.
Meaning of Cognizable Offence
A cognizable offense is a crime in which the police are authorized to arrest a person without a warrant and start the investigation without the court's permission. A cognizable offense is one kind of crime where the police can detain a person without a warrant, and can start investigating it without the prior sanction of a court of law. These offenses are highly stringent and generally include acts dangerous to public safety, cause grave harm, or are against the law in some respects that require immediate action.
Seriousness: Those crimes are relatively more severe, with acts that endanger the public safety of a person or cause considerable harm to human beings or other forms of property.
Legal Provision: These offences are more serious, like murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and other crimes of that sort.
Procedure: In the case of a cognizable offense, the police can submit a First Information Report and initiate an investigation.
Examples: Theft, murder, dowry death, criminal breach of trust, and rioting are examples of offenses that are considered to be cognizable.
Meaning of Non-Cognizable Offence
A non-cognizable offense is a crime for which the police do not have the power to arrest the accused without a warrant and cannot start an investigation without the court's permission. A non-cognizable offense is a classification of crime, for which the police cannot arrest the accuser without a warrant, and they need the court's permission to file an inquiry too. Therefore, generally, such offenses are relatively minor and are not creating a threat to public safety or order.
Seriousness: Non-cognizable crimes can be treated as less serious and apparently, do not pose an immediate threat to public safety.
Legal Provision: These offenses are generally minor in nature, such as minor assault, defamation, cheating, and public nuisance.
Procedure: A police officer can arrest only when a magistrate issues a warrant or at the time of starting an investigation for non-cognizable offenses .
Example: Offences of forgery, cheating, assault, and defamation are non-cognizable.
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Difference Between Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offence
1. Definition
Cognizable Offense: A kind of offense where, without a warrant, the police can arrest the person and start an investigation without the permission of any court. Normally, such offenses are serious, such as murder, theft, robbery, assault, etc.
Non-Cognizable Offense: Non-cognizable offenses are petty offenses for which the police cannot arrest without a warrant and cannot investigate without getting permission from the court. These can be defamation, public nuisances, or minor assaults.
2. Legal Authority
Cognizable Offense: The legal authority more lies with the police, as they can act promptly without a referral through an order from the court. This should be the case since there is a need to respond promptly to serious threats.
Non-Cognizable Offense: The police can only perform limited authority and work under the guidance and permission of the court. Even the court instructs them to take action accordingly.
3. Punishment
Cognizable Offence: These offences basically possess severe punishments like long-term imprisonment, life imprisonment, or even death punishment according to the intensity of the crime.
Non-Cognizable Offence: The punishments for the non-cognizable offences are minor. They can be fines, short-term imprisonment, or probation.
4. Procedure of Arrest
Cognizable Offence: The police are authorized to arrest the accused by warrant and on their own without any prior order by the court. This procedure thus enables prompt action to avert damage.
Non-Cognizable Offence: The police require a warrant issued by a Magistrate to make an arrest. Arrests in these cases are not said to be urgent.
5. Investigation
Cognizable Offence: Police may begin the investigation into the Cognizable offence on the information they have received. No court order is needed to begin this.
Non-Cognizable Offence: The initiation of the process of the non-cognizable offense case can be done only by seeking permission from the court, so their instant investigative powers are bound to be limited.
6. FIR (First Information Report)
Cognizable Offence: Police can directly file an FIR as soon as they receive information about the offence.
Non-Cognizable Offence: There is no FIR filed by the police. Instead, a formal complaint has to be made to the magistrate; then only will the magistrate decide whether he should file any case.
7. Preventive Action
Cognizable Offence: The police may take preventive action in cognizable offenses to maintain public order or stop the criminal offense from escalating.
Non-Cognizable Offence: As these are minor offenses, the role of the police in such preventive measures is nominal and usually dealt with by the courts themselves.
8. Public Media Attention:
Cognizable Offence: Such offenses generally attract much public and media attention because they fall into serious offenses and are a threat to the safety of society. Public murder or terrorism cases are always followed by the masses and the media.
Non-Cognizable Offence: There is less media coverage given to non-cognizable offenses as they are considered to not be dangerous threats to society. They carry issues of disputes and petty violations of law.
9. Judiciary Control
Cognizable Offence: After the police complete their inquiry, the courts step in. The police have enormous discretion while exercising it in the preliminary stages.
Non-Cognizable Offence: The judiciary must also be there at the very inception. The court monitors and controls the investigation and litigation process as well, making sure every single step taken is strictly above board and justifiable.
10. Bail
Cognizable Offense: It usually becomes tough to get bail for cognizable offenses as they fall under very grave or serious crimes and may involve flight and tampering of witnesses. The courts are very reluctant to grant bail for such offenses.
Non-Cognizable Offense: The procedure for getting bail for a non-cognizable offense is rather easy since these are minor in nature and do not hold serious punishments or pose a high threat to the public.
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DIfference Between Cognizable & Non-Cognizable Offence: Quick Recap
AspectCognizable OffenseNon-Cognizable OffenseSectionSection 2(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973Section 2(l) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973DefinitionA crime in which the police can arrest without a warrant and start an investigation without court approval.A crime in which the police cannot arrest without a warrant and need court permission to start an investigation.SeriousnessGenerally involves serious crimes that pose a threat to public safety or order.Involves less serious crimes with minimal threat to public safety.ExamplesMurder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, theft.Defamation, cheating, minor assaults, public nuisance.Police AuthorityPolice can arrest and investigate without a warrant or prior permission from the court.Police need a warrant to arrest and court permission to investigate.First Information Report (FIR)FIR can be registered by the police directly upon receiving information about the crime.FIR cannot be registered directly by the police; it requires a complaint filed in court.Role of CourtMinimal court involvement in the initial stages; police proceed independently.The court plays a central role from the beginning; it directs police action and investigation.ProcedureSwift action is taken to prevent harm or apprehend suspects promptly.A more controlled and deliberate process, often involving a preliminary inquiry by the court.Legal ProvisionFalls under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which allows immediate police action for serious offenses.Requires court orders as specified in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for less severe crimes.
Landmark Cases Dealing with Cognizable Offense
Lalita Kumari vs. Government of U.P. & Ors. (2013)
The Supreme Court held that in case of a cognizable offense, it is obligatory on the part of the police to register an FIR, and if there was some delay or negligence on the part of the police in registering the same, the officials could be brought to book for the lapse.
State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal (1992)
This case made a point that the police can exercise discretion to arrest without a warrant in the case of cognizable offenses and also laid down some guidelines for investigation.
Landmark Cases on Non-Cognizable Offense
Manohar Lal Sharma vs. Principal Secretary & Others (2014)
What is most relevant about this judgement is that the Supreme Court decides that police have to obtain the prior permission of the Magistrate to investigate the non-cognizable offense while asserting their limited power.
A.R. Antulay vs. R.S. Nayak (1988)
Non-cognizable offenses make clear that, under the law, a petition must be filed before the Magistrate by the complainant so that legal proceedings can begin.
Conclusion
The distinction between cognizable and non-cognizable offenses is quite important in legal jurisprudence because it determines the course of procedure and powers accorded to both the police and judiciary. Cognizable offenses are considered more severe and thus call for instant action by the police without any mediation through the court, whereas non-cognizable offenses follow a more formal procedure requiring prior sanction from the court. Comprehension of these aspects brings an added dimension to understanding the legal enforcement process and the rights of individuals and further extends to the role the judiciary plays in enforcing law and order.
Difference Between Cognizable And Non-Cognizable Offence FAQs
1. What is a Cognizable Offence?
A cognizable offense is a crime wherein the police can arrest the accused without a warrant and start investigating without permission from the court.
2. What is a Non-Cognizable Offence?
A non-cognizable offence is a minor crime, a less severe crime, wherein police require a warrant for the arrest process and need permission from the court to investigate.
3. What are some examples of Cognizable offences?
Examples include murder, rape, kidnapping, and theft, where immediate police intervention is necessary.
4. Which of the following are examples of non-cognizable offenses?
Examples of non-cognizable offenses include defamation, cheating, and public nuisance, which call for court-directed proceedings.
5. Can a non-cognizable offence turn out to be a cognizable offence?
Yes. In case of new evidence coming up, showing that this constitutes an offense that is committed with a more heinous intent than initially thought, then the same can be declared a cognizable offense.
