Police-Related Law Awareness
Police-Related Law Awareness tests the legal powers and limits of a police officer, now under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). These replaced the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act from 1 July 2024.
Core procedure
- FIR for a cognizable offence: Section 173 BNSS, earlier Section 154 CrPC; it is read over and signed.
- Zero FIR: any station registers it and transfers it to the proper jurisdiction.
- Arrest: grounds must be given, a memo prepared, family informed, medical examination done, and the person produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
- Non-cognizable offence: entry in the station diary and magistrate's permission to investigate.
- Investigation, charge sheet, bail, summons and warrant are BNSS subjects.
Kerala-specific
- The Kerala Police Act, 2011 governs organisation, duties and discipline.
- The Kerala Police Complaints Authority handles complaints; the State Police Chief heads the force.
Worked example
A person reports a mobile theft. Theft is cognizable. The officer must register an FIR, give a copy free of cost and start investigation. Refusing because the place of occurrence lies in another station area is wrong; register a Zero FIR and transfer it.
Traps
- Using old IPC section numbers when the question is under the BNS.
- Treating arrest as punishment.
- Refusing an FIR in a cognizable case.
- Forgetting that the informant gets a free FIR copy.
- Confusing compoundable and non-compoundable offences.