Classification of Offences: Cognizable, Bailable and Compoundable

Every offence in India carries three labels that decide how the case moves: whether the police can arrest without a warrant (cognizable), whether bail is a matter of right (bailable), and whether the victim can settle the case (compoundable). Since 1 July 2024 these labels come from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), mainly its section 2 definitions, the First Schedule and section 359. The three labels are independent of each other, so an offence can be cognizable yet compoundable, or non-cognizable yet non-bailable.

This explainer is written for B.A. LL.B. and LL.B. students preparing for criminal procedure papers, and for anyone who has walked into a police station and been told "this is non-cognizable, go to court." Knowing which box an offence falls into tells you what the police must do, what the accused can demand, and whether a compromise ends the matter.

Where does the law sit now?

The BNSS replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced the Indian Penal Code. The working parts are:

• Section 2(1)(g) BNSS: a cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule or any other law, arrest without warrant (old pointer: section 2(c) CrPC).
• Section 2(1)(o) BNSS: a non-cognizable offence is one for which the police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant (old section 2(l)).
• Section 2(1)(c) BNSS: a bailable offence is one shown as bailable in the First Schedule or made bailable by any other law; every other offence is non-bailable (old section 2(a)).
• The First Schedule: Part I lists BNS offences one by one with columns for cognizability, bailability and the trial court. Part II covers offences under other laws.
• Section 359 BNSS: the compounding provision (old section 320 CrPC).

Cognizable and non-cognizable: what changes at the police station?

For a cognizable offence, the officer in charge must record the information under section 173 BNSS (old section 154). In Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh (2014) the Supreme Court held that registration of an FIR is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence, allowing a limited preliminary inquiry only in certain categories such as matrimonial disputes, commercial offences, medical negligence, corruption, and complaints made after an unexplained delay of more than three months.

The BNSS adds a twist. Under section 173(3), for cognizable offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, the officer may, with prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, hold a preliminary enquiry within 14 days to see whether a prima facie case exists. The Supreme Court noted this difference from the old section 154 in Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat (2025). Under section 173, an FIR can also be registered at any police station regardless of where the offence happened.

For a non-cognizable offence, section 174 BNSS (old section 155) applies. The officer enters the substance of the information and refers the informant to the Magistrate. The police cannot investigate without a Magistrate's order. So a student in Nagercoil who is slapped in a quarrel (voluntarily causing hurt, section 115(2) BNS) will usually be pointed towards a private complaint, while a stolen phone (theft, section 303(2) BNS) must be registered as an FIR.

Bailable and non-bailable: right or discretion?

Under section 478 BNSS (old section 436), a person accused of a bailable offence who is ready to give bail must be released, at any stage. If the person is indigent and cannot furnish a surety, the officer or court shall release them on a bond for appearance instead of a bail bond, and a person who cannot give a bail bond within a week of arrest may be presumed indigent. Bail can be refused under section 478(2) only if the person earlier broke the attendance conditions of a bond in the same case. The Supreme Court in Rasiklal v. Kishore Khanchand Wadhwani (2009) treated bail in a bailable offence as a right of the accused, not a favour.

In a non-bailable offence, bail is discretionary under section 480 BNSS (old section 437) before the Magistrate, and the Sessions Court and High Court have their own powers. Non-bailable does not mean "no bail". It means the court weighs the facts. Read Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) on avoiding routine arrest for offences punishable up to seven years, and Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022) on bail practice generally.

Compoundable and non-compoundable: who can settle?

Section 359 BNSS has two tables:

1. Table 1: offences the named person can compound without the court's permission, for example voluntarily causing hurt (section 115(2) BNS), theft (303(2)), cheating (318(2)), criminal trespass (329(3)) and criminal intimidation (351(2) and (3)).
2. Table 2: offences compoundable only with the permission of the court where the prosecution is pending, for example voluntarily causing grievous hurt (117(2)), criminal breach of trust (316(2)) and cheating with dishonest inducement to deliver property (318(4)).

Composition has the effect of an acquittal (section 359(8)), and no offence can be compounded except as the section allows (section 359(9)). Notice the cross-over: theft is cognizable and non-bailable, yet compoundable by the owner.

What about serious offences settled privately? In Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012) and Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab (2014), the Supreme Court held that the High Court's inherent power (now section 528 BNSS, old section 482) can quash non-compoundable cases after a genuine settlement, mainly where the dispute is private or civil in flavour. State of Madhya Pradesh v. Laxmi Narayan (2019) kept heinous offences, offences under special statutes such as the Prevention of Corruption Act, and offences by public servants out of this route.

Special laws can also carry their own compounding rule. Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 makes every offence under that Act compoundable, so a cheque bounce case under section 138 can be settled even though it does not appear in either table of section 359.

What if the offence is under another law?

Part II of the First Schedule gives a default rule where a special law is silent:

• Punishable with death, life imprisonment or more than seven years: cognizable, non-bailable, triable by the Court of Session.
• Three years and upwards but not more than seven years: cognizable, non-bailable, Magistrate of the first class.
• Less than three years or fine only: non-cognizable, bailable, any Magistrate.

A tenant in Madurai facing a charge under a state or central special Act should therefore check the Act itself first, and fall back on Part II only if it says nothing.

How should you write this in an exam?

• Open with the three definitions and their BNSS section numbers, then give the old CrPC section in brackets.
• Draw a short table: offence, cognizable or not, bailable or not, compoundable or not. Use theft, hurt and murder (section 103 BNS, cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable) as your three examples.
• Stress that the labels are independent and that the First Schedule is the source.
• Cite one case per label: Lalita Kumari for FIRs, Arnesh Kumar for arrest, Gian Singh for quashing on settlement.
• Close with what the BNSS changed: the section 173(3) preliminary enquiry and the express power to register an FIR at any police station. Do not present the indigent bond rule in section 478 as new; the old section 436 already had it.

Students who want to see these rules in real disputes can volunteer with the college legal aid clinic.

Sources

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (India Code): official text of the Act, including the section 2 definitions.
• BNSS First Schedule, Part II (AdvocateKhoj bare act): classification of offences under other laws.
• Section 359 BNSS (CourtBook): text and tables of compoundable offences.
• SCC Online Blog on section 173(3) BNSS: analysis of preliminary enquiry and Lalita Kumari.
• Khaitan and Co on quashing non-compoundable offences: summary of Gian Singh, Narinder Singh and Laxmi Narayan.
• Section 478 BNSS (Vidhi Judicial): text of the bail provision for bailable offences, including the indigent proviso.
• Bar and Bench overview of investigations under the BNSS: FIR, section 174 and bail provisions.