14.2 Chapter 14 — FIR & Police Investigation

Chapter 14 — FIR & Police Investigation

Quick Answer: Chapter 14 is the police information and investigation engine of the CrPC. Cognizable information → FIR (s.154 themes) → investigation (ss.156–157+) → statements (ss.161–162 limits) → searches / diary → report under s.173 (challan / final report). Non-cognizable information does not open free investigation without Magistrate’s order. Master the flowchart and the evidentiary bar on police statements.

Why This Block Matters on LAW-GAT

CrPC carries 10 marks. Chapter 14 supplies classic MCQs:

• When must an FIR be recorded?
• Can police investigate a non-cognizable offence on their own?
• What is the evidentiary status of a s.161 statement?
• What is a s.173 report?
• When may investigation be refused or an accused released for want of evidence?

Think in process steps, not isolated section numbers.

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Master Flowchart (Cognizable Path)

Information of a COGNIZABLE offence
            │
            ▼
   s.154 — reduce to writing (FIR)
   (copy / entry themes per bare act)
            │
            ▼
   s.156 — power to investigate cognizable case
   (no prior Magistrate order required)
            │
            ▼
   s.157 — procedure where cognizable offence suspected
   (proceed to spot / investigate / report up the line)
            │
            ├──────────────────────┐
            ▼                      ▼
   Collect evidence            s.169 — evidence deficient
   ss.160–161 witnesses        → release accused (with bond themes)
   s.165 search (conditions)
   s.172 case diary
            │
            ▼
   s.170 — evidence sufficient → send case to Magistrate
            │
            ▼
   s.173 — police report (challan / final report)
            │
            ▼
   Magistrate takes cognizance / further inquiry as Code provides

Keep this map in mind while reading each node below.

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Information in Cognizable Cases — FIR (s.154 Themes)

What section 154 does

When information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence is given to an officer in charge of a police station:

Why the FIR matters

• It is usually the earliest recorded version of the occurrence
• It sets investigation in motion for cognizable crime
• It is not substantive proof of guilt by itself; later trial evidence must prove the charge
• Delay in FIR, improvements, and contradictions are trial themes—but for Chapter 14 MCQs, focus on duty to record cognizable information and the cognizable / non-cognizable split

Key Point: FIR language in exams = s.154 cognizable information reduced to writing at the police station, not every anonymous tip and not a Magistrate’s complaint under Chapter 16.

Refusal to register (exam-level caution)

Where information discloses a cognizable offence, the classic statutory expectation is that it be recorded. Unlawful refusal is a rights and accountability theme in Pakistani practice discussions; for bare-act LAW-GAT, know that cognizable character drives the s.154 duty, while non-cognizable information follows s.155.

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Non-Cognizable Information (s.155 Themes)

Exam trap: Treating every police visit to a scene as free investigation of a non-cognizable offence. Without Magistrate’s order, s.155 blocks that path.

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Powers to Investigate Cognizable Cases (s.156 Themes)

Any officer in charge of a police station may, without the order of a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a court having jurisdiction over the local area would have power to inquire into or try. Related themes:

• Investigation may be done by a subordinate under the officer’s direction (with reporting-up rules)
• Local jurisdiction matters: the station’s area and the offence’s location themes
• s.156 does not decide guilt; it only opens lawful investigation

Procedure where cognizable offence suspected (s.157 themes)

If, from information or otherwise, an officer has reason to suspect commission of a cognizable offence which he is empowered to investigate:

1. He sends a report to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance
2. He proceeds in person (or deputed subordinate) to the spot to investigate facts and circumstances and to take measures for discovery and arrest of the offender
3. He may not proceed to the spot if the information is not of a serious nature, or if there is no sufficient ground—recording reasons (classic “when investigation may not proceed to scene” theme)

That last limb is the bare-act root of refusing or limiting field investigation when grounds are insufficient.

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Statements to Police — ss.161 and 162 (Evidentiary Limits)

Section 161 — examination of witnesses by police

During investigation, a police officer may examine any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances. Themes:

Section 162 — use of statements in evidence

This is a scoring section for LAW-GAT:

Exam rule: s.161 = power to examine / record; s.162 = hard limits on courtroom use. Do not say “s.161 statement is full evidence like a trial deposition.”

Related fairness rules (Chapter 14 neighbourhood)

• No inducement to be offered to obtain a statement (s.163 themes)
• Confessions / statements before Magistrate under s.164 are a different recording regime (judicial caution, not ordinary police case diary notes)

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Search by Police Officer (s.165 Themes)

When an officer in charge has reasonable grounds to believe that anything necessary for investigation may be found in a place within his jurisdiction, and that the thing cannot otherwise be obtained without undue delay, he may search—or cause search—after recording grounds of belief in writing. Themes:

• Search is investigation-linked, not random
• Written reasons before search (accountability)
• Provisions about calling independent witnesses and preparing lists appear in the search chapter scheme (cross-link to general search/seizure chapters on the wider syllabus)
• Illegal search does not automatically wipe all investigation, but evidence and fairness consequences are classic litigation themes; for MCQs, know the conditions for s.165 search

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Diary of Proceedings (s.172 Themes)

Every police officer making an investigation must enter day-by-day proceedings in a diary: time of receiving information, time of beginning and ending investigation, places visited, and circumstances ascertained. Themes:

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Report / Challan — Section 173

What s.173 is

As soon as investigation is completed, the officer in charge must forward to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance a police report in the prescribed form. This is the challan / final report stage of popular language.

Typical contents themes:

• Names of parties
• Nature of information
• Names of persons acquainted with circumstances
• Whether any offence appears committed, by whom, whether arrested, whether released on bond, whether forwarded in custody
• Accompanying documents and statements as the Code / rules require (including supply-to-accused themes that interact with commencement chapters)

Two practical outcomes

Exam language: “Report under section 173” = completion document of police investigation, not the FIR itself and not the judgment of the trial court.

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When Investigation May Be Refused or Stopped

s.169 vs s.170 (pair to memorize)

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Complaint Case vs Police Case (Preview Link to Chapters 16–17)

Do not collapse “someone told the police” into “complaint under s.200” or vice versa.

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One-Page Revision Checklist

1. Cognizable + s.154 = FIR duty / written first information.
2. Non-cognizable + s.155 = record, but no investigation without Magistrate order.
3. s.156 / s.157 = power and first steps of cognizable investigation.
4. s.161 / s.162 = examine witnesses, but strict evidentiary limits.
5. s.165 = conditional investigation search with recorded grounds.
6. s.172 = case diary.
7. s.169 / s.170 / s.173 = deficient evidence / sufficient evidence / final police report.

That flowchart is the Chapter 14 scoreboard for LAW-GAT.