Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 514
Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of period of limitation
(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.
Why this exists
Without a deadline, prosecutions for minor offences could be launched years or decades after the fact, when evidence has faded and witnesses have forgotten details, making a fair trial nearly impossible. This provision protects people from indefinitely hanging prosecutorial threats for relatively minor matters while leaving serious offences (punishable by more than three years) without any limitation period at all. It corresponds to section 468 of the earlier CrPC.
How courts read it
Courts applying the equivalent CrPC provision have clarified that this limitation period applies only to taking cognizance of the offence, not to the filing of the initial complaint or FIR, and that the bar is calculated strictly based on the maximum sentence prescribed by law for the offence in question, not the sentence actually likely to be imposed.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: This time limit applies to all criminal offences.
Fact: It only applies to offences punishable with a fine only, up to one year, or between one and three years; more serious offences have no such limitation period under this section.