• Adv Govind Bali
• Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Law Student Notes
• August 22, 2026

Cognizance, Charge & Criminal Trial under BNSS

Official Statutory Framework

The official BNSS text is available through India Code. The relevant sequence spans Chapter XV on conditions requisite for initiation of proceedings, Chapter XVI on complaints to Magistrates, Chapter XVII on commencement of proceedings before Magistrates, Chapter XVIII on the charge, Chapter XIX on Sessions trials, Chapter XX on warrant cases, Chapter XXI on summons cases and Chapter XXII on summary trials.

For examination purposes, do not study these chapters as unrelated blocks. They are a single procedural chain: cognizance → process → supply/committal → discharge or charge → prosecution evidence → defence → arguments → judgment.

Part I — Sections 210–222: Cognizance and Statutory Preconditions

Section 210: Cognizance by Magistrate

Cognizance is the judicial act by which the Magistrate applies judicial mind to an alleged offence for the purpose of proceeding under criminal law. Section 210 recognises three principal sources: a complaint of facts constituting an offence; a police report, including one submitted electronically; and information from a person other than a police officer or the Magistrate’s own knowledge.

The source matters because the procedure that follows differs. A police-report case ordinarily proceeds through document supply and the relevant trial chapter. A complaint case passes through Sections 223–227 and, where applicable, the new accused-hearing safeguard before cognizance.

Sections 211–214: Transfer and Sessions Cognizance

Sections 211 and 212 regulate transfer or making over of cases between Magistrates. Section 213 governs cognizance by a Court of Session and Section 214 permits Additional Sessions Judges to try cases made over to them. As a general procedural proposition, a Sessions Court ordinarily receives cases through commitment unless a statutory exception or special law authorises direct cognizance.

Sections 215–222: Special Bars and Conditions for Cognizance

The BNSS imposes special preconditions for specified categories of offences. These include offences affecting public justice or documents used in evidence, offences against the State and certain conspiracies, prosecution of Judges and public servants, matrimonial offences, cruelty under Section 85 BNS and defamation. A complete cognizance answer should therefore ask not merely whether facts disclose an offence, but whether the legally required complaint, sanction, authorisation or status of complainant exists.

Part II — Sections 223–233: Complaint Procedure, Process, Documents and Committal

Section 223: Examination of Complainant and the New Accused-Hearing Right

Section 223 occupies the field formerly associated with Section 200 CrPC but introduces a major change. The first proviso to Section 223(1) prevents cognizance on a complaint without first giving the accused an opportunity of being heard in cases governed by that provision.

In Parvinder Singh v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2026 INSC 519, the Supreme Court held this safeguard substantive and mandatory, connected it with Article 21 fair-trial rights, and held that cognizance taken without compliance is void ab initio. The official judgment is available from the Supreme Court of India.

The Section 223 hearing should not be confused with a full trial or with the later Section 225 inquiry. For a detailed analysis, see our Section 223 case note.

Sections 224–227: From Complaint to Process

Students should remember the sequence: the court may examine the complaint and witnesses, conduct or direct the limited inquiry contemplated by law, dismiss the complaint if the threshold is not crossed, or issue process if sufficient ground exists. Process is therefore a later stage than cognizance.

Sections 228–229: Personal Attendance and Petty-Offence Summons

Section 228 permits the Magistrate to dispense with personal attendance of the accused and allow appearance through an advocate in appropriate circumstances. Section 229 provides a special summons mechanism for petty offences. These provisions reflect the broader BNSS emphasis on reducing unnecessary physical appearance where judicial attendance can be secured proportionately.

Section 230: Supply of Police Report and Documents

In a case instituted on a police report, Section 230 requires the Magistrate to furnish the accused, and the victim if represented by an advocate, free copies of the police report, FIR, prosecution witness statements, Magistrate-recorded statements and specified relied-upon documents. The statute directs supply without delay and ordinarily not beyond fourteen days from production or appearance of the accused.

Electronic supply counts as duly furnished. For voluminous material, the Magistrate may use electronic supply or permit inspection as the statute allows. This provision is not a clerical formality: the Section 262 discharge period in police-report warrant cases runs from supply of these documents.

Section 231: Sessions-Triable Complaint Cases

Section 231 deals with supply of statements and documents in cases instituted otherwise than on a police report where the offence is exclusively triable by the Court of Session. It ensures that an accused entering a Sessions trial is not expected to defend without the prosecution material contemplated by law.

Section 232: Commitment to the Court of Session

Where the offence is triable exclusively by the Court of Session, the Magistrate commits the case after complying with Sections 230 or 231, sends the record and material to the Sessions Court, deals with custody subject to bail law, and notifies the Public Prosecutor.

BNSS makes this stage expressly time-bound. The commitment proceedings are to be completed within ninety days from the date of taking cognizance; the Magistrate may extend the period within the statutory framework for reasons recorded in writing. Applications filed before the Magistrate by the accused, victim or authorised person in a Sessions-triable case are also forwarded with the committal record.

Section 233: Complaint Case and Police Investigation on the Same Offence

Section 233 regulates the situation where a complaint case is pending and police investigation is also proceeding in respect of the same offence. Its purpose is to prevent conflicting parallel processes and to coordinate the complaint with the police case according to the statutory conditions.

Part III — Sections 234–247: The Charge

What Is a Charge?

A charge is the formal statement of the offence that the accused is required to answer at trial. It performs a constitutional and procedural notice function: the accused must know the precise legal accusation so that the defence can be prepared.

The charge is not proof of guilt. It records the court’s conclusion that the threshold for trial has been crossed. The burden remains on the prosecution to prove guilt according to the applicable standard.

Sections 234–237: Contents and Particulars

Section 234 governs the contents of the charge. Section 235 requires sufficient particulars of time, place and person. Section 236 requires the manner of commission to be stated where those particulars are necessary to give adequate notice. Section 237 provides that words used in the charge are taken in the sense attached to them by the law defining the offence.

Sections 238–240: Error, Alteration and Recall

An error in the charge does not automatically vitiate the proceeding. Section 238 focuses on whether the error or omission has actually misled the accused and occasioned failure of justice. Section 239 permits the court to alter or add to a charge before judgment, subject to fairness. Section 240 protects both sides by permitting recall or re-summoning of witnesses where alteration requires it.

Sections 241–247: Joinder of Charges and Accused

The ordinary rule is separate charges for distinct offences, but the BNSS contains exceptions permitting joinder where offences are of the same kind within the statutory period, arise from the same transaction, or where it is uncertain which offence the proved facts may constitute. It also regulates included offences, joint trial of specified persons and withdrawal of remaining charges after conviction on one of several charges.

Part IV — Sections 248–260: Trial Before a Court of Session

Sections 250 and 251: Discharge versus Framing of Charge

At Section 250, the Judge asks whether there is sufficient ground for proceeding. If not, discharge follows with reasons. If the threshold is crossed, Section 251 applies. Where there is ground for presuming that the accused has committed an offence, the Judge frames the appropriate charge according to the statutory division of trial jurisdiction.

The phrase ground for presuming does not mean proof beyond reasonable doubt. The court performs limited judicial scrutiny, not a mini-trial. Classic Supreme Court authorities under the corresponding CrPC provisions—such as State of Bihar v. Ramesh Singh, Union of India v. Prafulla Kumar Samal, State of Orissa v. Debendra Nath Padhi and P. Vijayan v. State of Kerala—remain doctrinally important where the BNSS wording continues the same threshold.

For a full ingredient-by-ingredient discharge framework, see our BNSS discharge guide.

Section 255: Acquittal After Prosecution Evidence

After prosecution evidence, the Sessions Judge considers whether there is evidence that the accused committed the offence. If there is no such evidence, the Judge records an acquittal without requiring the accused to enter upon the defence. This is fundamentally different from discharge: Section 255 operates after prosecution evidence has been led at trial.

Section 258: Judgment and Sentence

After arguments and points of law, the Judge gives judgment as soon as possible, ordinarily within thirty days from completion of arguments. The period may extend to forty-five days for reasons recorded in writing. Where the accused is convicted, the Judge must ordinarily hear the accused on sentence before passing sentence according to law.

Part V — Sections 261–273: Warrant Cases Before Magistrates

A. Warrant Case Instituted on a Police Report — Sections 261–266

Section 261 requires the Magistrate to satisfy himself that Section 230 document supply has been complied with. Section 262 governs discharge; the accused may prefer the discharge application within sixty days from supply of the documents under Section 230. If the charge is groundless after considering the police report, accompanying documents, any examination of the accused and both sides’ submissions, the Magistrate discharges with reasons.

If the threshold for trial is crossed, Section 263 requires the Magistrate to frame a written charge, ordinarily within sixty days from the first hearing on charge. The charge is then read and explained to the accused, who is asked whether he or she pleads guilty or claims trial.

Section 264 concerns plea of guilty, Section 265 prosecution evidence and Section 266 defence evidence. The structure is therefore: compliance → discharge scrutiny → charge → plea → prosecution → defence.

B. Warrant Case Otherwise Than on Police Report — Sections 267–273

Complaint-based warrant cases follow a materially different sequence because the Magistrate hears prosecution evidence before charge. Section 267 provides for prosecution evidence. Under Section 268, the Magistrate discharges if no case has been made out which, if unrebutted, would warrant conviction; the provision also allows earlier discharge where the charge is groundless for recorded reasons.

If the accused is not discharged, Section 269 governs the charge-stage procedure. Section 270 deals with defence evidence and Section 271 with acquittal or conviction. Sections 272 and 273 address absence of complainant and compensation for accusation without reasonable cause.

Part VI — Sections 274–282: Trial of Summons Cases

Section 274: No Formal Charge—But a New Discharge Power

When the accused appears or is brought before the Magistrate in a summons case, the particulars of the offence are stated and the accused is asked whether he or she pleads guilty or has a defence. A formal written charge is not required.

BNSS adds an important proviso: if the Magistrate considers the accusation groundless, the Magistrate records reasons, releases the accused and that release has the effect of discharge. This is a material change from the older Section 251 CrPC framework and should be specifically mentioned in BNSS comparative answers.

Sections 275–278: Plea, Evidence and Judgment

Section 275 allows conviction on a properly recorded plea of guilty. Section 276 deals with guilty pleas in the absence of an accused in specified petty cases. If the accused is not convicted on plea, Section 277 requires prosecution and defence evidence. Section 278 provides for acquittal or conviction.

Sections 279–282: Complaint Absence, Withdrawal and Conversion

Section 279 deals with non-appearance or death of the complainant in a complaint summons case and contains the statutory consequences and exceptions. Section 280 permits withdrawal of complaint before final order where the Magistrate is satisfied. Section 281 gives power to stop proceedings in specified summons cases not instituted on complaint. Section 282 allows conversion of a summons case into a warrant case where the statutory requirements justify the more elaborate procedure.

Part VII — Sections 283–288: Summary Trials

Summary trials are designed for specified less serious offences where a simplified procedure can achieve a fair and efficient adjudication. Section 283 identifies the principal summary-trial power, Section 284 addresses summary trial by a Magistrate of the second class where empowered, Sections 285–286 regulate procedure and record, Section 287 governs judgment and Section 288 the language of record and judgment.

A summary trial is still a criminal trial. Simplification of form does not eliminate natural justice, the presumption of innocence, the prosecution burden, the accused’s right to answer the case or the requirement of a lawful judgment.

Part VIII — Discharge, Charge, Acquittal and Conviction: Do Not Confuse the Stages

Five BNSS Timelines Students Should Memorise

Part IX — How to Solve a Criminal Trial Problem Question

Frequently Asked Examination Questions

1. What is cognizance and how may a Magistrate take cognizance under Section 210 BNSS?
2. Distinguish cognizance from issue of process.
3. Explain the Section 223 pre-cognizance hearing of an accused after Parvinder Singh.
4. Explain Sections 225, 226 and 227 in complaint proceedings.
5. What documents must be supplied under Section 230 and within what period?
6. Explain commitment to the Court of Session under Section 232.
7. What is a charge and what particulars must it contain?
8. When may a charge be altered under Section 239?
9. When can offences or accused persons be tried jointly?
10. Explain discharge under Section 250 and charge under Section 251.
11. What is the 60-day charge-framing rule in a Sessions trial?
12. Explain prosecution evidence, acquittal and defence in a Sessions trial.
13. What is the Section 258 judgment timeline?
14. Explain warrant-case procedure instituted on a police report.
15. Explain discharge under Section 262 and framing charge under Section 263.
16. Distinguish police-report warrant cases from complaint warrant cases.
17. Explain discharge under Section 268.
18. Is a formal charge required in a summons case?
19. What new discharge power appears in the proviso to Section 274?
20. Explain the procedure in summary trials under Sections 283–288.
21. Distinguish dismissal, discharge, acquittal and conviction.

Exam Answer Toolkit

One-Minute Revision

Academic note: This article is for legal education and examination preparation. Special statutes can modify the ordinary BNSS procedure, and transitional cases may require analysis of Section 531. Current statutory text, applicable rules and full judgments should be checked before professional reliance.