FIR and probe prior to July 1, 2024 offences must be registered under section 173 of BNSS: Karnataka HC

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has said that if any offence committed prior to July 1, 2024 and the FIR registered on or after July 1, 2024, it should be registered under section 173 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita (BNSS).

The offences committed prior to the implementation of the new criminal law shall be registered under the IPC, (BNS after the introduction of new laws), apart from any other special law, however the investigation shall be done and final report shall be submitted under the BNSS (earlier CrPC), the court said.

“If the offences committed on or after July 1, 2024 then the offences shall be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and if any other special law and all the investigation and final report should be filed under the BNSS. The appeal/revision/petition/trial/application/investigation pending on or before the commencement of BNSS should be disposed of under the CrPC and final report shall be filed after the investigation under Section 173 of CrPC. The trial courts should follow this procedure and DG and IGP should circulate this aspect to all the police stations to follow suit,” Justice K Natarajan said in the order.

In the case at hand, a group D employee with the Health Department at Lingasugur in Raichur district had challenged the registration of an FIR against him on the day new criminal laws came into force, July 1, 2024. The complainant, a nurse at a government hospital, alleged that the petitioner, under the guise of promise of marriage, committed sexual assault on her and also took money from her.

The petitioner contended that since the complaint was registered on July 1, 2024, the FIR should have been registered under the BNSS and that there is an inordinate delay of three years in filing the complaint.

On the other hand, the government advocate submitted that this is the first FIR registered after the commencement of the BNSS and therefore, the police could not change the format of the FIR in the computer. It was further submitted that an error had crept in the provisions while registering the FIR. However, that itself is not a ground for quashing the FIR, the advocate stated.

After examining the provisions in the new criminal laws as well as judgments passed in this regard by the high courts, Justice K Natarajan observed that the FIR registered under 154 of CrPC on July 1, 2024, after the commencement of BNSS, is not sustainable and is liable to be quashed.

“However, there is no fault of the victim or the complainant for registering the FIR under CrPC by the police therefore the police required to register a fresh FIR under Section 173 of BNSS, Hence, the FIR is required to be quashed by retaining the complaint filed by the de-facto complainant,” the court said, adding that even if the FIR is quashed on technical grounds, the police can register a fresh FIR and investigate the matter under section 176 of BNSS and file final report in accordance with law.