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+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-description=(File a private criminal complaint before a Magistrate under BNSS Section 223 when police refuse to act, and why the accused must now be heard first.)&metatag-keywords=(private complaint magistrate BNSS 223, BNSS section 223, accused heard before cognizance, police refuse FIR India)&metatag-robots=(index,follow)&metatag-og:title=(Private Criminal Complaint Before a Magistrate Under BNSS 223)&metatag-og:description=(File a private criminal complaint before a Magistrate under BNSS Section 223 when police refuse to act, and why the accused must now be heard first.)&metatag-og:type=(article)}}
+====== Private Criminal Complaint Before a Magistrate: BNSS 223 ======
+{{ :social:auto:private-criminal-complaint-magistrate-bnss-223-india.png?direct&1200 |Private Criminal Complaint Before a Magistrate: BNSS 223 — RTI Wiki}}
+<WRAP center round info 95%>
+**Quick Reply:** File a private criminal complaint before a Magistrate under BNSS Section 223 when police refuse to act, and why the accused must now be heard first.
+</WRAP>
+**When the police will not register your FIR or refuse to investigate, you can bypass them and file a private criminal complaint directly before a Magistrate under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023. The Magistrate examines you and your witnesses on oath, and under BNSS must give the proposed accused an opportunity to be heard before taking cognizance.**
+This is the formal route when Section 175(3) BNSS (the old CrPC 156(3) power to order police investigation) has been tried or is not enough. Below is the step-by-step procedure, what changed from the old CrPC Section 200, the documents you need, the mistakes that get complaints dismissed, and a worked example.
+===== The procedure, step by step =====
+  - **Draft the complaint.** Write a plain statement of facts: who did what, when, where, which offence is made out, and the relief you seek. Name the proposed accused and list your witnesses. A complaint can be oral or written, but a written, signed complaint is far stronger.
+  - **File it before the competent Magistrate.** Present the complaint to the Judicial Magistrate having jurisdiction over the place where the offence happened. Attach your documents and witness list.
+  - **Examination on oath under Section 223.** The Magistrate examines you (the complainant) and any present witnesses on oath. Your statements are reduced to writing and signed by you, the witnesses, and the Magistrate (BNSS 2023, Section 223(1)).
+  - **The proposed accused is heard.** Before taking cognizance, the Magistrate must give the proposed accused an opportunity of being heard. This is the mandatory first proviso to Section 223(1), and it is new under BNSS.
+  - **Cognizance, inquiry, or investigation under Section 225.** After examination and hearing, the Magistrate may take cognizance, or postpone issuing process and either hold an inquiry or direct an investigation before deciding whether to summon the accused (the Section 225 region of BNSS).
+===== What changed from old CrPC Section 200 =====
+Under the old Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 200 let a Magistrate examine the complainant and witnesses on oath and proceed to cognizance without ever hearing the person being accused. BNSS Section 223 keeps the oath examination but adds a mandatory step: the proposed accused must be given an opportunity of being heard before cognizance is taken on a complaint.
+In **Parvinder Singh v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2026 INSC 519** (decided 19 May 2026, bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh), the Supreme Court held that the word "shall" in the first proviso to Section 223(1) is mandatory. Cognizance taken without first hearing the proposed accused is void ab initio. The Court declined to refer the question to a larger bench.
+===== Documents you need =====
+  * A signed, dated written complaint setting out the facts and the offence
+  * Proof you approached the police first: copy of your FIR application, the refusal, or the acknowledgement of your Section 175(3) BNSS request
+  * Identity proof of the complainant
+  * List of witnesses with contact details
+  * Documentary evidence: messages, receipts, photographs, medical or bank records, the dishonoured cheque, and so on
+  * Any prior orders or correspondence relevant to the dispute
+===== Common mistakes that sink a complaint =====
+  * **Skipping the police-refusal proof.** A Magistrate expects to see that you tried the ordinary route under Section 175(3) BNSS before invoking the private-complaint power.
+  * **Vague or unsigned complaints.** The oath examination under Section 223(1) is built on your written statement, so a loose, unsigned narrative weakens the whole case.
+  * **Filing in the wrong court.** The complaint must go to the Magistrate with territorial jurisdiction over where the offence occurred.
+  * **Assuming cognizance is automatic after your oath.** Since the first proviso to Section 223(1) is mandatory, the accused must be heard first, and any cognizance taken without that step is void ab initio (2026 INSC 519).
+  * **Treating the Magistrate as an investigator.** Under the Section 225 region the Magistrate may order an inquiry or investigation, but the burden of presenting a coherent case stays with you.
+<WRAP center round box>
+**Real-life example.** In Jabalpur district, Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak filed three written FIR applications between 2 February and 10 March 2026 over a forged property document, and the police refused to register a case. On 24 March 2026 he filed a private criminal complaint before the Judicial Magistrate, attaching his refusal acknowledgements and the disputed deed. The Magistrate examined him on oath under Section 223, and before taking cognizance, issued notice to the proposed accused so he could be heard, as the first proviso now requires. After hearing both sides, the Magistrate directed an inquiry under the Section 225 region before deciding whether to issue process. Total court fee and drafting cost: ₹3,500.
+</WRAP>
+===== Using RTI to build your case =====
+Before you go to the Magistrate, use RTI to pin down what the police did with your complaint. File an RTI application with the police Public Information Officer asking for the status of your FIR application, the daily diary entry, and the recorded reasons for refusing to register the case (RTI Act 2005, Section 6(1)). If the PIO stays silent or denies records, escalate with a first appeal. These records become your proof at step 2 that you exhausted the ordinary route.
+Draft both with the wiki tools: the [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html|AI RTI Drafter]] for the application and the [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/first-appeal-app.html|First Appeal Builder]] if the PIO does not respond.
+===== Frequently asked questions =====
+==== Can I file a private complaint if the police simply ignored my FIR? ====
+Yes. A refusal or inaction by the police is the typical trigger for a private complaint under Section 223 BNSS. Keep proof that you first tried the ordinary route, ideally a request under Section 175(3) BNSS asking the Magistrate to order a police investigation, before invoking the private-complaint power.
+==== Does the accused really have to be heard before the Magistrate proceeds? ====
+Yes. The first proviso to Section 223(1) BNSS is mandatory. In Parvinder Singh v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2026 INSC 519, the Supreme Court held that cognizance taken without giving the proposed accused an opportunity of being heard is void ab initio.
+==== What is the difference between Section 175(3) and Section 223 BNSS? ====
+Section 175(3) BNSS lets a Magistrate order the police to investigate, the equivalent of the old CrPC Section 156(3). Section 223 is the alternative: the Magistrate takes cognizance directly on your complaint after examining you on oath, used when the police route fails.
+==== What happens after the Magistrate examines me on oath? ====
+After examination and after hearing the proposed accused, the Magistrate may take cognizance, or may postpone issuing process and hold an inquiry or direct an investigation before deciding whether to summon the accused (the Section 225 region of BNSS).
+==== Can I file the complaint myself without a lawyer? ====
+Yes, the law allows it, but a clearly drafted complaint and a tidy set of witnesses and documents make a real difference. The oath examination under Section 223(1) is built on your written statement, so precision matters.
+===== Sources =====
+  * Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, Section 223 and Section 225, indiacode.nic.in
+  * Parvinder Singh v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2026 INSC 519, Supreme Court of India (Indian Kanoon doc id 46844204)
+  * Right to Information Act 2005, Section 6(1)
+===== Related guides =====
+  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/arrest-fir-notice-rights-india|Arrest, FIR and notice rights in India]]
+  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/zero-fir-bnss-section-173-procedure|Zero FIR under BNSS Section 173]]
+  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/book|The RTI Playbook]]
+{{tag>police fir bns bnss private criminal complaint magistrate}}