Cognizance bar under CrPC protects Section 174-A IPC from prosecution without a written complaint by the competent public servant.

Section 195(1)(a)(i) CrPC bars cognizance of offences within Sections 172 to 188 IPC, including Section 174-A, unless the competent public servant files a written complaint. The text notes that the offence being cognizable does not remove this statutory bar, and no separate distinction can be drawn on that basis. It also records that later exclusion of the corresponding offence in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from the cognizance bar in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 does not alter the position under the earlier regime. The impugned order was therefore treated as unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether cognizance and prosecution for the offence under Section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 are barred by Section 195(1)(a)(i) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and whether the order sustaining the charges could stand.

Analysis: The provision in Section 195(1)(a)(i) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies to offences within Sections 172 to 188 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and requires a complaint in writing by the competent public servant before cognizance can be taken. The reasoning accepted that Section 188 IPC, though cognizable, is still subject to this bar, and therefore no artificial distinction could be drawn merely because Section 174-A IPC is cognizable. The Court also took note of the legislative scheme, including the later exclusion of the corresponding offence in Section 209 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from the cognizance bar in Section 215 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, but held that such later amendment could not be used to infer a contrary legislative intention for the earlier regime. The impugned order had relied solely on a contrary view, which was found unsustainable in light of the binding and persuasive authorities considered.

Conclusion: Section 195(1)(a)(i) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 bars cognizance for an offence under Section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 unless there is a complaint in writing by the competent public servant, and the impugned order could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an offence falls within the cognizance bar of Section 195(1)(a)(i) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the court cannot take cognizance in the absence of the statutorily required written complaint, even if the offence is otherwise cognizable.

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