Supreme Court: Magistrate Doesn't Require Prior Sanction To Direct FIR Registration Under S.156(3) CrPC

 Part IV

Our Conclusions

164. For the foregoing reasons and discussion, our conclusions are summarised as follows:

V. The statutory framework under the Code of Criminal Procedure (now the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), provides a comprehensive and layered mechanism to set the criminal law in motion. The duty of the police to register an FIR upon disclosure of a cognizable offence is mandatory, as settled in Lalita Kumari (supra).

VI. In cases of non-registration of FIR, the Code of Criminal Procedure/BNSS provide efficacious remedies. An aggrieved person may approach the Superintendent of Police Under Section 154(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure or corresponding Section 173(4) of BNSS and thereafter invoke the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure (corresponding Section 175 of BNSS) or proceed by way of a complaint Under Section 200 of Code of Criminal Procedure (corresponding Section 223 of BNSS). These remedies constitute a complete statutory architecture.

VII. The availability of such remedies, coupled with the supervisory jurisdiction of constitutional Courts Under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution demonstrates that no legislative vacuum exists warranting the intervention sought. The appropriate course lies in ensuring faithful and even-handed enforcement of existing law.

VIII. The supervisory jurisdiction of the Magistrate Under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure or corresponding Section 175 of BNSS is of wide amplitude and includes supervisory oversight over the investigation at appropriate stages. This power is intended to ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, impartial, and lawful manner, and may be exercised simultaneously during the stage of investigation, where the material on record discloses any deficiency, inaction, or taint in the investigative process.

IX. The requirement of prior sanction Under Sections 196 and 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure (corresponding Sections 217 and 218 of BNSS) operates at the stage of taking cognizance and does not extend to the pre-cognizance stage of registration of FIR or investigation Under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure (corresponding Section 175(3) of BNSS). An order directing investigation Under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure does not amount to taking cognizance within the meaning of Section 190 of Code of Criminal Procedure (corresponding Section 210 of BNSS).

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943 of 2021, 

Decided On: 29.04.2026

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors.

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:

Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.

Citation:  MANU/SC/0419/2026,

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