Cognizable vs Non-Cognizable – Quick Chart

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Admin

📊 Cognizable vs Non-Cognizable – Quick Chart

Sr	Act	Commonly Invoked Section	Cognizable / Non-Cognizable	Bailable / Non-Bailable	Leading Case
1	Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act	Sec 31 (Breach)	Cognizable	Non-Bailable	Kunapareddy v. Kunapareddy Swarna Kumari
2	Code of Criminal Procedure	Sec 125 (Maintenance default)	Non-Cognizable	Bailable	Rajnesh v. Neha
3	Arms Act	Sec 25	Cognizable	Non-Bailable	Gunwantlal v. State of M.P.
4	Gujarat Prohibition Act	Sec 66(1)(b)	Cognizable	Bailable (small qty)	Gujarat HC (regular bail practice)
5	Public Gambling Act	Sec 4/5	Cognizable	Bailable	State of A.P. v. K. Satyanarayana
6	Juvenile Justice Act	Sec 12	Cognizable	Bail is Rule	Shilpa Mittal v. State (NCT of Delhi)
7	Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act	Sec 3/4	Cognizable	Usually Bailable (minor role)	Various SC rulings
8	Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act	Sec 23	Cognizable	Non-Bailable	Voluntary Health Association of Punjab v. Union of India
9	Motor Vehicles Act	Sec 184/185	Cognizable	Bailable	Traffic jurisprudence
10	Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act	Sec 7/8	Cognizable	Non-Bailable	Satish Ragde v. State of Maharashtra
11	Information Technology Act	Sec 66C/66D	Cognizable	Bailable (≤3 yrs)	SC Cyber cases
12	Drugs and Cosmetics Act	Sec 27 (minor breach)	Cognizable	Bailable (technical)	SC pharma rulings
13	Food Safety and Standards Act	Sec 59 (minor)	Cognizable	Bailable	Food safety cases
14	Essential Commodities Act	Sec 7	Cognizable	Often Bailable	Post-amendment cases
15	Indian Forest Act	Sec 26	Cognizable	Bailable	Forest offence cases
16	Gujarat Police Act	Sec 135	Cognizable	Bailable	Gujarat HC rulings
17	Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act	Sec 20	Non-Cognizable	Bailable	COTPA cases
18	Negotiable Instruments Act	Sec 138	Non-Cognizable (Complaint case)	Bailable	Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod v. State of Maharashtra
19	Indian Penal Code	Sec 323 (simple hurt)	Cognizable	Bailable	SC general rulings
20	Indian Penal Code	Sec 504/506 (minor)	Cognizable (Part I)	Bailable	Bail jurisprudence

⚖ Quick Understanding

🔹 Cognizable Offence

• Police can register FIR
• Arrest without warrant
• Investigation without court order

🔹 Non-Cognizable Offence

• Police need Magistrate order to investigate
• No arrest without warrant

📌 Important Bail Principle Applicable to Most Minor Acts

• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar – No automatic arrest for offences punishable up to 7 years.
• Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI – Bail is rule, jail is exception.
• Sanjay Chandra v. CBI – Bail cannot be punitive.

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