Section 173 CrPC vs Section 193 BNSS — Police Report (Chargesheet)

In India, Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) from 1 July 2024. The police report survives largely intact; the BNSS adds electronic forwarding, a two-month limit for listed sexual offences, a 90-day progress update to the victim, and a 90-day cap on further investigation during trial.

At a glance

What changed

• s.193(1) — Identical. "Every investigation under this Chapter shall be completed without unnecessary delay."
• s.193(2) — Modified. The two-month period now covers BNS ss.64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70 and 71 and POCSO ss.4, 6, 8 and 10. Its counterpart, s.173(1A) CrPC, covered IPC ss.376, 376A, 376AB, 376B, 376C, 376D, 376DA, 376DB and 376E; its printed text omits the words stating the period (see below), so the two periods are not compared here. BNS s.69 is not in the BNSS list.
• s.193(3)(i), opening words — Modified. "As soon as it is completed" became "As soon as the investigation is completed"; "shall forward to a Magistrate" became "shall forward, including through electronic communication to a Magistrate"; "in the form prescribed by the State Government" became "in the form as the State Government may, by rules provide".
• Clause (f) — Modified. "whether he has been released on his bond and, if so, whether with or without sureties" became "whether the accused has been released on his bond or bail bond".
• Clause (h) — Modified. The medical-examination particular refers to BNS ss.64–68, 70 and 71 instead of the IPC rape provisions.
• Clause (i) — New. "the sequence of custody in case of electronic device".
• s.193(3)(ii) — New. The officer "shall, within a period of ninety days, inform the progress of the investigation by any means including through electronic communication to the informant or the victim". The start of the ninety days is not stated.
• s.193(8) — New. Indexed copies of the report and documents go to the Magistrate "for supply to the accused as required under section 230"; electronic supply "shall be considered as duly served".
• s.173(7) CrPC — Omitted. The officer's discretion to furnish copies directly to the accused where "convenient" is gone.
• s.193(9) — Modified; proviso New. Old s.173(8), with cross-references renumbered and "in the form prescribed" replaced by "in the form as the State Government may, by rules, provide". The new proviso requires the trial court's permission for further investigation "during the trial" and completion "within a period of ninety days which may be extended with the permission of the Court".
• Minor edits elsewhere. Clauses (a)–(e) are unchanged. Cross-references are renumbered in clause (g) (s.170 → s.190, which also reads "the accused" for "he"), s.193(4) (s.158 → s.177) and s.193(6) (ss.170, 161 → ss.190, 180). Section 193(5) reads "bond or bail bond" for "bond"; s.193(3)(iii) (old s.173(2)(ii)) now speaks of State "rules"; s.193(7) prints "subject matter" without the hyphen.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Section 173 CrPC — extracts (original-PDF text):

(1) Every investigation under this Chapter shall be completed without unnecessary delay.

(1A) The investigation in relation to an offence under sections 376, 376A, 376AB, 376B, 376C, 376D, 376DA, 376DB or 376E from the date on which the information was recorded by the officer in charge of the police station.

The (1A) extract is reproduced exactly as printed in our source, which omits the words fixing the period (a footnote records that Act 22 of 2018 substituted the listed sections for the words "rape of a child may be completed within three months"). Do not rely on it for the post-2018 period.

(8) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude further investigation in respect of an offence after a report under sub-section (2) has been forwarded to the Magistrate …

Section 193 BNSS — extracts (Gazette text):

(2) The investigation in relation to an offence under sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or under sections 4, 6, 8 or section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 shall be completed within two months from the date on which the information was recorded by the officer in charge of the police station.

(3)(i) As soon as the investigation is completed, the officer in charge of the police station shall forward, including through electronic communication to a Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence on a police report, a report …

(ii) the police officer shall, within a period of ninety days, inform the progress of the investigation by any means including through electronic communication to the informant or the victim;

(9) … Provided that further investigation during the trial may be conducted with the permission of the Court trying the case and the same shall be completed within a period of ninety days which may be extended with the permission of the Court.

How it works — the steps

1. Complete without unnecessary delay (s.193(1)); within two months for listed offences (s.193(2)). For BNS ss.64–68, 70 and 71 and POCSO ss.4, 6, 8 and 10, the clock runs from the date the officer in charge recorded the information.
2. Update the informant or victim (s.193(3)(ii)). Within ninety days, by any means including electronic communication. This runs alongside the investigation; it does not end it.
3. Forward the report (s.193(3)(i)). In the State's form, including electronically, stating particulars (a) to (i). For an electronic device, clause (i) requires "the sequence of custody".
4. Communicate the action taken to the first informant (s.193(3)(iii)).
5. Send documents and indexed copies (s.193(6)–(8)). Where s.190 applies, the documents relied on and the s.180 statements of intended witnesses go with the report; the officer may ask for parts of statements to be excluded (s.193(7)).
6. Magistrate supplies copies (s.230). Within fourteen days of the accused's production or appearance, free of cost, to the accused and to the victim if represented by an advocate. Voluminous documents may be furnished electronically or made available for inspection.
7. Further investigation (s.193(9)). A further report follows any new evidence; sub-sections (3) to (8) apply "as far as may be". During the trial, the trial court's permission and a ninety-day period, extendable by the Court, apply.

What this means in practice

For the investigating officer. For a listed sexual offence, three clocks run: two months to complete the investigation (s.193(2)); ninety days for the progress update (s.193(3)(ii)); and, if the accused is in custody, the sixty- or ninety-day limit in s.187(3). Where an electronic device is seized, the report must state its sequence of custody (clause (i)). Copies must be indexed and submitted with the report (s.193(8)); handing copies directly to the accused under old s.173(7) is no longer the route.

For the victim or informant. You are entitled to a progress update within ninety days (s.193(3)(ii)) and, as first informant, to a communication of the action taken (s.193(3)(iii)). A victim represented by an advocate receives the same copies as the accused (s.230). Neither provision states a remedy for non-compliance; on a reading, the Magistrate who receives the report and controls supply under s.230 is the natural forum to raise it.

For defence counsel. Record the date of first production, since s.230 fixes an outer limit of fourteen days from production or appearance for copies. Section 193(2) states no consequence for exceeding two months, so an argument that delay alone vitiates the report finds no support in the words of the sub-section. An application for further investigation during trial is the point to oppose it or its extension (s.193(9) proviso).

For the prosecutor. Cognizance may be taken on a police report "submitted in any mode including electronic mode" (s.210(1)(b)). For BNS ss.64–68, 70 and 71, the inquiry or trial is to be completed within two months "from the date of filing of the chargesheet" (s.346(1) proviso) — the only place the Sanhita uses that word.

Default bail (s.187(3)). Detention cannot be authorised beyond ninety days where the offence is punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for "ten years or more" (CrPC: "not less than ten years" — a minor edit), or sixty days otherwise; the accused then "shall be released on bail if he is prepared to and does furnish bail". A police report filed within the period prevents that right arising — see Dinesh Dalmia below.

Judgments that still matter

These Supreme Court judgments construed Section 173 CrPC. Whether they govern Section 193 is stated as a reading of the text, not as a holding.

Bhagwant Singh v. Commissioner of Police, [1985] 3 S.C.R. 942 (three judges; opinion of Bhagwati J.). The Court considered what a Magistrate may do with a report under s.173(2)(i) and whether the informant must be heard. It held that where the Magistrate decides not to take cognizance and to drop the proceeding, "the informant must be given an opportunity of being heard so that he can make his submissions to persuade the Magistrate to take cognizance of the offence and issue process". It reasoned from the informant's interest recognised in ss.154(2), 157(2) and 173(2)(ii). An injured person or relative of the deceased who is not the informant has no right to notice but, if present, "the Magistrate is bound to hear him". The report carries no paragraph numbers; the passages are in the body of the judgment. Why it matters now: each provision the Court relied on has a BNSS counterpart (ss.173(2), 176(2), 193(3)(iii)), and s.193(3)(ii) adds an update to "the victim"; on a reading of the text, the reasoning carries over to s.193.

Dinesh Dalmia v. Central Bureau of Investigation, [2007] 9 S.C.R. 1124 (2007 INSC 941), 18 September 2007 (S.B. Sinha and Harjit Singh Bedi JJ.). After a charge sheet naming an absconding accused, he was arrested and sought statutory bail under the proviso to s.167(2). The Court held that "law does not require that filing of the charge sheet must await the arrest of the accused" (para 15), and that further investigation under s.173(8) "is permissible even if order of cognizance of offence has been taken by the Magistrate" (para 16). It read the default-bail proviso as available "only when a charge sheet is not filed and investigation is kept pending" (para 29). Why it matters now: s.187(3) BNSS and s.193(9) repeat the operative words, so on a reading of the text the same analysis frames default-bail applications under the BNSS.

Vinay Tyagi v. Irshad Ali @ Deepak, [2012] 13 S.C.R. 1005 (2012 INSC 587), 13 December 2012 (A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar JJ.; opinion of Swatanter Kumar J.). The Court distinguished three kinds of investigation. It described further investigation under s.173(8) as "the continuation of a previous investigation", producing a supplementary report that does not wipe out the initial investigation (para 15). For fresh, de novo or re-investigation, "there has to be a definite order of the court", and "Neither the Investigating agency nor the Magistrate has any power to order or conduct 'fresh investigation'" (para 16). Why it matters now: s.193(9) repeats s.173(8), and its proviso regulates only "further investigation during the trial"; on a reading, it creates no power of fresh investigation, so the Vinay Tyagi distinction remains the framework.

Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya v. State of Gujarat, [2019] 15 S.C.R. 936 (2019 INSC 1146), 16 October 2019 (three judges: R.F. Nariman, Surya Kant and V. Ramasubramanian JJ.; opinion of Nariman J.). The Court held that the Magistrate's power to ensure a proper investigation includes "the ordering of further investigation after a report is received by him under Section 173(2)", a power which continues "at all stages of the criminal proceedings until the trial itself commences" (para 23). It overruled earlier decisions holding that the power ceased once process issued (para 38). Why it matters now: the judgment addressed the pre-trial stage; the s.193(9) proviso speaks to further investigation "during the trial". On a reading of the two together, the pre-trial position stays where Vinubhai put it, and the trial stage is governed by the proviso.

Which law applies to your case

The BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that any investigation pending immediately before that date "shall be … continued … in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973", "as if this Sanhita had not come into force". On a reading of that clause, the police report in such an investigation is governed by s.173 CrPC, including its further-investigation provision; investigations begun on or after 1 July 2024 follow s.193 BNSS. For the substantive-offence side of the transition, see which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Which BNSS section replaces Section 173 CrPC on the chargesheet? Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and carries the same heading, "Report of police officer on completion of investigation". The BNSS commenced on 1 July 2024. Like the CrPC, the BNSS generally calls the document a "police report"; the word "chargesheet" appears in the Sanhita only in the proviso to Section 346(1).

Can the police forward the chargesheet electronically under BNSS? Yes. Section 193(3)(i) BNSS requires the officer in charge of the police station to forward the report to the Magistrate "including through electronic communication". Section 210(1)(b) BNSS correspondingly allows the Magistrate to take cognizance upon a police report "submitted in any mode including electronic mode". Section 173(2)(i) CrPC contained no such words.

What is the two-month time limit in Section 193(2) BNSS? Section 193(2) BNSS requires the investigation into offences under sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70 and 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, or sections 4, 6, 8 and 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012, to be completed within two months from the date on which the information was recorded by the officer in charge of the police station. The sub-section does not state a consequence if the period is exceeded.

Does the police have to file the chargesheet within 90 days under Section 193(3)(ii)? No. Section 193(3)(ii) BNSS is a duty to inform the informant or the victim of the progress of the investigation within a period of ninety days, by any means including electronic communication. It is not a deadline for filing the police report. The sixty-day and ninety-day periods that matter for custody are in Section 187(3) BNSS, which deals with default bail.

When must the accused receive copies of the chargesheet? Section 230 BNSS requires the Magistrate to furnish copies of the police report and other documents "without delay, and in no case beyond fourteen days from the date of production or appearance of the accused", free of cost, to the accused and to the victim if represented by an advocate. Section 207 CrPC required supply "without delay" and fixed no outer limit. Section 193(8) BNSS requires the investigating officer to submit indexed copies to the Magistrate for this purpose.

Is there a time limit on further investigation after the chargesheet is filed? Only during the trial. The proviso to Section 193(9) BNSS allows further investigation during the trial with the permission of the Court trying the case and requires it to be completed within ninety days, which may be extended with the permission of the Court. Section 193(9) itself, like Section 173(8) CrPC, states no period for further investigation before the trial.

What happens if no chargesheet is filed within 60 or 90 days of arrest? Section 187(3) BNSS, like Section 167(2) CrPC, bars a Magistrate from authorising detention beyond ninety days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for ten years or more, and sixty days for any other offence. On expiry, the accused "shall be released on bail if he is prepared to and does furnish bail". In Dinesh Dalmia (2007), the Supreme Court read the CrPC proviso as available only where a charge sheet is not filed and investigation is kept pending.

Related

• Section 167 CrPC vs Section 187 BNSS — remand and default bail
• Section 154 CrPC vs Section 173 BNSS — the FIR
• Investigation and trial timelines under the BNSS
• Discharge applications and framing of charge deadlines
• Victim rights and compensation
• Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies
• Section 207 CrPC vs Section 230 BNSS — Supply of Police Report and Documents to the Accused (CrPC 207-208)
• Sections 206–209 CrPC vs Sections 229–232 BNSS — Special Summons in Petty Offences and Commitment to the Court of Session

Sources

Acts and sections read (primary text):

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette of India, CG-DL-E-25122023-250884): ss.187, 193, 210(1), 230, 346(1), 531(2); commencement footnote to s.1 in the official text (S.O. 848(E), 23 February 2024).
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (original-PDF text): ss.167(2), 173, 207, 309(1).

Judgments read (Supreme Court, full text in the Veritect judgment corpus):

• Bhagwant Singh v. Commissioner of Police, [1985] 3 S.C.R. 942 — 1985_3_942_950_EN.md
• Dinesh Dalmia v. Central Bureau of Investigation, [2007] 9 S.C.R. 1124 — 2007_9_1124_1141_EN.md
• Vinay Tyagi v. Irshad Ali @ Deepak, [2012] 13 S.C.R. 1005 — 2012_13_1005_1048_EN.md
• Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya v. State of Gujarat, [2019] 15 S.C.R. 936 — 2019_15_936_989_EN.md

This page explains the statutory text and the judgments cited as they stand. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.