BNSS Section 514: Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of period of limitation (formerly CrPC 468)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNSS 514: Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of period of limitation
From 1 July 2024
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Sanhita, no Court shall take cognizance of an offence of the category specified in sub-section (2), after the expiry of the period of limitation.
(2) The period of limitation shall be—
(a) six months, if the offence is punishable with fine only;
(b) one year, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year;
(c) three years, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the period of limitation, in relation to offences which may be tried together, shall be determined with reference to the offence which is punishable with the more severe punishment or, as the case may be, the most severe punishment.
Explanation.—For the purpose of computing the period of limitation, the relevant date shall be the date of filing complaint under section 223 or the date of recording of information under section 173.
What it replaced in the CrPC
BNSS 514 ← CrPC 468 · Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of the period of limitationChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: A new explanation is added. "For the purpose of computing the period of limitation, the relevant date shall be the date of filing a complaint under section 223 or the date of recording information under section 173." “elsewhere” is excluded from subsection (1).
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
(1) Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this Code, no Court shall take cognizance of an offence of the category specified in sub-section (2), after the expiry of the period of limitation.
(2) The period of limitation shall be—
(a) six months, if the offence is punishable with fine only;
(b) one year, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year;
(c) three years, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years. [(3) For the purposes of this section, the period of limitation, in relation to offences which may be tried together, shall be determined with reference to the offence which is punishable with the more severe punishment or, as the case may be, the most severe punishment.]
Which one applies
Procedure follows the proceeding. Under section 531(2)(a) of the BNSS, an appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation already pending on 1 July 2024 continues under the CrPC; one begun on or after that date proceeds under the BNSS.
Read BNSS section 531 →Judgments decided under CrPC 468
They remain the law on CrPC 468. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 37.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 44.
- The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.