Preliminary enquiry is an initial assessment conducted by the
police to determine whether the information received from an
informant warrants the registration of a First Information Report
(FIR). This is a crucial step as the registration
of an FIR sets the criminal law machinery in motion with the police
acquiring significant investigative powers, including the power to
arrest. This article focuses on the changes introduced to this
concept by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
(BNSS), which replaced the former Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) with effect from July 1,
2024.
Position under CrPC
The concept of preliminary enquiry was not codified under the
former CrPC but was read into it by judicial pronouncements. The
Supreme Court, in the landmark judgment of Lalita
Kumari v. Government of Uttar
Pradesh, (2014) 2 SCC 1, held that registration of an
FIR is mandatory if the information received discloses the
commission of a cognizable offence (i.
