Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 154 of the CrPC. It puts on a statutory footing two practices that the courts had already encouraged, and adds a new one.
Zero FIR
Information about a cognizable offence may be given at any police station, whatever the area where the offence was committed. The station must record it regardless of jurisdiction. The informant is entitled to a copy free of cost under Section 173(2).
e-FIR
Information may now be given by electronic communication. It is taken on record once the person giving it signs it within three days.
Preliminary enquiry
Section 173(3) is new. For a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment of three years or more but less than seven years, the officer in charge may, with the prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, conduct a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to see whether a prima facie case exists, or proceed straight to investigation where it does.
In Imran Pratapgarhi v. State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court described Section 173(3) as an exception to Section 173(1) and a significant departure from Section 154 CrPC. Where the allegation concerns speech or expression and the offence falls in this band, the Court held that a preliminary enquiry should ordinarily be conducted before an FIR is registered. Outside the band, the rule in Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P. continues: an FIR must be registered where the information discloses a cognizable offence.
Where the police refuse
An informant whose information is not recorded may approach the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4), and then the Magistrate under Section 175(3).
The clocks set by the Sanhita
- Progress of investigation to be told to the informant or victim within ninety days — Section 193(3)
- Further investigation to be completed within ninety days, unless the court extends the time — Section 193(9)
- Police report and documents to be supplied to the accused within fourteen days — Section 230
- Application for discharge within sixty days — Sections 250 and 262
- Charge to be framed within sixty days of the first hearing on charge — Sections 251 and 263
- Judgment within thirty days of the close of arguments, extendable to forty-five days for recorded reasons — Section 258
Courts are still working out what follows when these limits are missed. In 2025 the Supreme Court expressed concern at widespread non-compliance with the sixty-day limit for framing charge.
This note states the law as it stands on 15 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an advocate–client relationship. The law on several of these points is still developing.