Police Logged NC but You Need an FIR — citizen guide 2026

If you only have 2 minutes: collect the NC copy and your written complaint, write to the Superintendent of Police stating why the facts are cognizable, and keep the acknowledgement. If the station still will not register an FIR, move the Magistrate under BNSS and file RTI for the diary entry.

An NC, or non-cognizable report, is the station record police make when they treat the facts as a non-cognizable offence. An FIR is registered for a cognizable offence. NC does not let the police investigate or arrest without a Magistrate's order. Classification depends on the offence disclosed, not on the officer's preference.

This guide is not a legal opinion on whether your facts are cognizable. That turns on the exact section and the facts. A local criminal lawyer should confirm the section. The steps below are the statutory path if the station logged NC when the information disclosed a cognizable offence.

• BNSS is in force. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from 1 July 2024 (PIB / MHA implementation of the new criminal laws).
• FIR for a cognizable offence — BNSS §173 (old CrPC §154). §173(1) says every information relating to a cognizable offence, irrespective of the area where the offence is committed, may be given orally or by electronic communication to an officer in charge of a police station. Oral information is reduced to writing and signed. Electronic information is taken on record on being signed within three days. §173(2) — a copy of the information as recorded shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant or the victim.
• Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P. (2014) 2 SCC 1. Constitution Bench: if the information discloses a cognizable offence, registration of FIR under CrPC §154(1) is mandatory. The officer cannot first test whether the information is “true”. The successor provision is BNSS §173. Cite both.
• Do not invent a 15-day FIR clock. There is no statutory rule that police may sit on a cognizable complaint for 15 days and then log it as NC.
• Limited preliminary enquiry — BNSS §173(3). On information of a cognizable offence punishable for three years or more but less than seven years, the officer in charge may, with prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police, either (i) hold a preliminary enquiry to see whether a prima facie case exists, within fourteen days, or (ii) proceed with investigation if a prima facie case exists. This is not a licence to convert a cognizable complaint into an NC, and it does not apply to every offence.
• If the station refuses to record — BNSS §173(4). Send the substance of the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police. If satisfied that the information discloses a cognizable offence, the SP shall investigate himself or direct a subordinate, failing which the aggrieved person may make an application to the Magistrate.
• Magistrate can order investigation — BNSS §175(3) (old CrPC §156(3)). A Magistrate empowered under §210 may, after considering the §173(4) application supported by an affidavit, after such inquiry as he thinks necessary and after the police officer's submission, order such an investigation.
• True NC cases — BNSS §174 (old CrPC §155). When information of a non-cognizable offence is given, the officer shall enter the substance in the prescribed book, refer the informant to the Magistrate, and forward the daily diary report of all such cases fortnightly to the Magistrate (§174(1)). §174(2) — no police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate. With that order, §174(3) gives ordinary investigation powers except arrest without warrant.
• Mixed facts — BNSS §174(4). If the case relates to two or more offences of which at least one is cognizable, the whole case is deemed cognizable.
• Complaint to the Magistrate — BNSS §223 (old CrPC §200). For a genuine non-cognizable matter, the informant the station referred to the Magistrate files a complaint; the Magistrate examines the complainant. That is the NC route. It is not a substitute for FIR when the facts were cognizable.
• Online offences. Report on cybercrime.gov.in and still insist on station recording. A portal acknowledgement is not by itself an FIR. See cybercrime portal versus the police station.
• RTI. Police are a public authority. RTI cannot order an FIR. It can produce the NC / daily-diary entry, the reasons recorded for not registering an FIR, and the name of the officer. File under RTI Act 2005 §6(1). Reply is due in 30 days under §7(1). Silence is deemed refusal; first appeal §19(1).

Draft with the AI RTI Drafter. Read The RTI Playbook before you file.

1. Ask for a copy of the NC / daily-diary entry. Note the NC number, date, time, police station and officer.
2. If they will not hand a copy, record those details in your own signed note and photograph the acknowledgement slip.
3. Keep your original written complaint and any stamp or diary number.

1. What was done, by whom, when, where, what was lost or who was hurt.
2. Name the cognizable section you are advised the facts disclose, or state the facts and ask the SP to apply the correct section.
3. If one of several acts is cognizable, say so — §174(4) treats the whole case as cognizable.

1. Address the Superintendent of Police of the district, or the Commissioner of Police where a commissionerate applies.
2. Send in writing and by post (the statute says post) and deliver a second copy in person for a stamp. Keep the postal receipt.
3. Attach the NC copy, your complaint, and the evidence list.
4. Ask the SP to register an FIR and investigate, as §173(4) requires when the information discloses a cognizable offence.

1. If the SP route fails, apply to the jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate empowered under §210.
2. Support the application with an affidavit (§175(3)).
3. Attach the NC copy, the SP representation, postal proof, and your complaint.
4. Ask the Magistrate to order investigation and, where the facts are cognizable, registration of an FIR.
5. Engage a local criminal lawyer for the format used in that court. This is the court step, not the RTI step.

1. File after you have a dated paper trail, or in parallel if the station will not even give the NC copy.
2. Ask for the GD/NC entry, reasons for not registering an FIR, and the officer's name — see the sample below.
3. Police RTI is usually a state filing. Use your state RTI portal and fee, not only rtionline.gov.in (that portal is for central public authorities).

1. You are entitled to a free copy forthwith under §173(2). If it is withheld, see How to get an FIR copy.

Replace the brackets. Have a lawyer review it if the offence is serious.

To
The Superintendent of Police / Commissioner of Police
[District / City]

Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

Subject: Request to register an FIR under BNSS section 173 — complaint wrongly entered as NC at [Police Station] on [date]

Respected Sir / Madam,

1. I am [Name], resident of [address], mobile [number].

2. On [date] I reported the following at [Police Station]:
   [Facts — what, who, when, where, harm or loss.]

3. Instead of recording a First Information Report under section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the police made a non-cognizable entry. NC number / diary number: [NUMBER]. Copy enclosed.

4. The information discloses a cognizable offence. The Constitution Bench in Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P. (2014) 2 SCC 1 held that registration of an FIR is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence. Section 173 of the BNSS is the successor of section 154 of the CrPC. If one of the offences disclosed is cognizable, section 174(4) treats the whole case as cognizable.

5. Under section 173(4) BNSS I request you to investigate the case yourself or direct a subordinate officer, and to have an FIR registered and a free copy given to me under section 173(2).

6. If this is not done I will apply to the Magistrate under section 173(4) read with section 175(3) BNSS.

Yours faithfully,
[Name, signature, mobile, email]

Enclosures: NC copy; original complaint; evidence list; identity proof.

File under §6(1) to the Public Information Officer of the district police / office of the Superintendent of Police. Enclose the NC number. Fee: your state RTI fee table.

To
The Public Information Officer
Office of the Superintendent of Police
[District, State]

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 — NC entry [NUMBER] dated [DATE] at [Police Station]

1. Certified copy of the non-cognizable / daily-diary / general-diary entry recorded at [Police Station] on [date] in connection with the complaint of [Name], including the NC or GD number.

2. Certified copy of any note, order or reasons recorded for not registering a First Information Report under section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on that complaint, and the name and designation of the officer who decided this.

3. Whether the substance of the information was forwarded to the Magistrate as a daily diary report under section 174(1)(ii) BNSS; if yes, the date of forwarding and the diary number.

4. File-movement / action-taken report from the date of the complaint to today, with the name, designation and sitting of the officer with whom the matter is pending and from which date.

5. Copy of any direction received from the Superintendent of Police or any other senior officer on this complaint.

I am a citizen of India. Please provide the information within 30 days under Section 7(1). If the information is held by another officer, transfer this request under Section 6(3) and inform me. Silence is deemed refusal; I will then file a first appeal under Section 19(1).

[Name, address, mobile]

Generate a filled version with the AI RTI Drafter. Track the 30-day clock with the Timeline Tracker. Paste a vague PIO reply into the PIO Reply Checker. If the PIO is silent, use the First Appeal Builder.

• RTI cannot order an FIR. Only the SP acting under §173(4), or a Magistrate acting under §175(3), can compel investigation / registration.
• RTI is not a substitute for the magistrate application on a live cognizable offence.
• An active investigation may attract §8 exemptions. Ask for the action taken on your complaint and the reasons recorded, not for the accused's private papers.
• The private accused is not a public authority.

• Treating the NC slip as a final refusal.
• Escalating only by phone — §173(4) requires writing, and the statute specifies post.
• Skipping the SP and going straight to court without a paper trail. The magistrate application under §175(3) is built on the §173(4) attempt.
• Citing a “15-day FIR deadline” that the BNSS does not enact.
• Using §173(3)'s fourteen-day preliminary enquiry (3-to-7-year offences, DSP permission) as if it authorised an NC.
• Filing RTI only on rtionline.gov.in for state police.
• Confusing a cybercrime.gov.in acknowledgement with a station FIR.

An NC is the station record for a non-cognizable offence under BNSS §174. Police cannot investigate or arrest without a Magistrate's order. An FIR is the record of information of a cognizable offence under §173. Police can investigate without a prior Magistrate order (§175(1)). If your facts disclose a cognizable offence, the law requires an FIR, not only an NC.

No. Lalita Kumari (2014) 2 SCC 1 held registration under CrPC §154 is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence. BNSS §173 is the successor. If the station refuses, §173(4) sends you to the SP, then to the Magistrate.

Cite §173 for recording information of a cognizable offence, §173(4) for the SP letter, §175(3) for the Magistrate application, and §174 only if the facts are truly non-cognizable. Do not guess other BNSS numbers.

Only for a cognizable offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, and only with prior DSP permission, the SHO may hold a fourteen-day preliminary enquiry or proceed with investigation. It is not a general 15-day wait, and it is not an NC procedure.

Apply under §173(4) read with §175(3) to the Magistrate empowered under §210. Support it with an affidavit, the NC copy, and proof you wrote to the SP. The Magistrate may order investigation. Use a local criminal lawyer for that court's format. For a genuine NC, the route is a complaint under §223.

No. RTI obtains records. The SP and the Magistrate are the authorities who can direct investigation. Use RTI to get the GD/NC entry and the written reasons.

Yes. It proves you reported the matter, the date, and how the station classified it. You need it for the SP letter, the magistrate application, and the RTI.

Lodge on cybercrime.gov.in and at the station. If the station logs only an NC despite cognizable facts (for example cheating), still run the §173(4) and §175(3) path. The portal ticket is not an FIR.

1. Photograph the NC slip and your written complaint.
2. Write the facts in five lines: what, who, when, where, harm.
3. Fill the SP representation above and print two copies plus a speed-post copy.
4. If the offence is online, file on cybercrime.gov.in as well.
5. Draft the RTI in the AI RTI Drafter so it is ready if the NC copy is withheld.

• FIR vs NCR vs complaint
• When SHO refuses to register an FIR
• RTI for FIR not registered
• How to get an FIR copy
• Arrest, FIR and notice rights
• Cybercrime portal versus the police station
• File RTI online
• First appeal under RTI §19
• Fake police notice PDF scam
• Online police complaint status not updated
• AI RTI Drafter
• PIO Reply Checker
• The RTI Playbook
• RTI Act, 2005

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — §173, §174, §175, §210, §223 — §173, §174, §175
• Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P. (2014) 2 SCC 1 — indiankanoon.org/doc/10239019
• Implementation of the new criminal laws, in force 1 July 2024 — PIB PRID 2287679
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — cybercrime.gov.in
• RTI Online (central public authorities) — rtionline.gov.in
• RTI Act, 2005 — §6(1), §6(3), §7(1), §19(1)

Reviewed on 20 August 2026 by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Confirm the live BNSS text and your state police RTI portal before you file.