What is a Charge Sheet?

About Charge Sheet

• A chargesheet is a final report that is filed by the investigating officer or police officials under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after the completion of the investigation in a cognizable or non-cognizable case.
• It contains all the stringent records right from the commencement of investigation procedure of lodging an FIR to the completion of investigation and the preparation of final report.
• Once the charge sheet has been submittedto a court of law, prosecution proceedings against the accused begin.
• This report by the investigating officer should be in the form prescribed by the state government.

Contents of the chargesheet:

• A chargesheet must contain the following information as per Section 173(2)(i) of the CrPC:
• The names of the parties.
• Nature of the information.
• Names of the persons who appear to be acquainted with the events.
• About the offence that appears to have been committed and theperson by whom it has been committed.
• Information regarding the arrest of the accused, his/their release with or without sureties, and whether he has been forwarded into custody under Section 170. 

Benefits of a chargesheet:

• It contains the statements of the accused and all other witnesses.
• Marks the beginning of a criminal trial.
• Charges on which courts have to proceed against the accused are mentioned.
• It is useful for the accusedin obtaining bail as the offences are mentioned clearly.
• Time limit for filing a Charge Sheet:
• It is to be filed within 60 daysfrom the date of arrest of the accused in cases triable by lower courts and 90 days in cases triable by Court of Sessions.
• If the charge sheet is not filed within the prescribed time mentioned above, the accused has a right to default bail.
• Is filing a chargesheet compulsory?
• Filing of a chargesheet in case a cognizable offence is said to be committed by the accused is mandatory on the part of police officials, either by themselves or on the orders of the court, after filing an FIR.
• However, the same is not compulsory in cases where a non-cognizable offence has been committed unless the court orders an investigation.

What is a Cognizable Offence?

• The Cr.P.C. classifies all the crimes into two categories: (i) Cognizable and (ii) Noncognizable.
• A Cognizable offence or case is defined as one which an officer in-charge of a police station may investigate withoutthe order of a magistrate and effect arrestwithout a warrant.
• The Police have a direct responsibility to take immediate action on the receipt of a complaint or credible information in such crimes, visit the scene of the crime, investigate the facts, apprehend the offender, and arraign him before a Court of law having jurisdiction over the matter.
• Non-Cognizable crimes are defined as those which cannot be investigated by police without the order of a competent magistrate.

Q1: What is the First Information Report (FIR)?

It is a written document prepared by a Police officer based on information given by an aggrieved person or any other person either in writing or made orally about the commission of a Cognizable Offence. Investigation is started only after filing of the FIR. Anyone can file a FIR, whether it is the victim, victim’s family or friends, or any witness to a crime. An FIR can only be lodged in case of cognizable offences.

Source:Chargesheet Must Contain Clear & Complete Entries, Specify Role Of Each Accused; Witness Statements Be Enclosed With It : Supreme Court