Section 173(4) BNSS (old Section 154(3) CrPC): when the police refuse to register an FIR

The section

Section 173(4) BNSS (old Section 154(3) CrPC): send the substance of the information in writing, by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned.

In Ghaziabad

A Police Commissionerate. The letter is addressed according to the police station: generally to the SHO, or to the DCP, ACP or Police Commissioner of that area if you meet that officer in person.

Next step

An application to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS (old Section 156(3) CrPC), with a copy of the letter and your affidavit.

Or

A complaint case under Section 223 BNSS (old Section 200 CrPC), where the Magistrate records your statement on oath.

You went to the police station with a complaint of a cognizable offence, such as cruelty by a husband, an assault, a theft or a cheating, and the station sent you away, told you to settle, or told you to go to another station. Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old Section 154(3) CrPC) is the first remedy, and the Magistrate is the second. If the case is a matrimonial one, the where-to-file tool shows the police station and the court for each step.

What Section 173(4) BNSS (old Section 154(3) CrPC) says

A person aggrieved by the refusal of the officer in charge of a police station to record the information may send its substance, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned. If that officer is satisfied that the information discloses a cognizable offence, he investigates the case himself or directs a subordinate officer to investigate, and that officer has all the powers of an officer in charge of a police station. The old Section 154(3) CrPC ended there. The new section adds that, failing this, the aggrieved person may make an application to the Magistrate.

The section is for cognizable offences, where the police can register an FIR and investigate without a Magistrate's order. For a non-cognizable offence the police only enter the information in a register and refer you to the Magistrate, and they cannot investigate without the Magistrate's order (Section 174 BNSS; old Section 155 CrPC).

First, what the police station must do

Under Section 173(1) BNSS (old Section 154(1) CrPC), every information about a cognizable offence may be given to the officer in charge orally or by electronic communication, irrespective of the area where the offence was committed. An oral statement is written down, read over to you and signed; information sent electronically is taken on record once you sign it within three days. You get a copy free of cost (Section 173(2)). In Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P., (2014) 2 SCC 1, a Constitution Bench held that registration of an FIR is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence, and that action must be taken against officers who do not register it.

There is one exception the police often use in family cases. For an offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, the officer may, with the prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, hold a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to see whether there is a prima facie case (Section 173(3) BNSS). The Supreme Court has treated this as an exception to Section 173(1) (Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat, 2025 INSC 410). Cruelty under Section 85 BNS (old Section 498A IPC), punishable with up to three years, falls in this band. If fourteen days pass with no FIR and no decision, treat it as a refusal and send the letter.

Write down at the police station the date and time of your visit, the name and rank of the officer you met and what was said. That note becomes part of your letter and, later, of your affidavit.

Who the letter goes to in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad is a Police Commissionerate, so the district has no Superintendent of Police by that name; the Deputy Commissioners of Police hold that rank, each over a zone, under the Police Commissioner. In practice the letter is addressed according to the police station: generally to the SHO of the station concerned, or to the DCP, ACP or Police Commissioner of that area if you meet that officer in person. The chamber also keeps a copy sent by registered post to the DCP of the zone, so that the record shows the letter reached an officer of the rank the section names.

Keep the postal receipt, the delivery record and a copy of the letter. If you hand it over in person, have your copy stamped or signed as received. These are the papers the Magistrate will ask for.

What the letter should say

The letter is a complaint of facts, not a legal petition, and it does not need section numbers. It should contain:

• your name, address and phone number;
• what happened, in order, with dates, times and places, and who did what;
• witnesses, medical papers, messages, photographs or other documents you have;
• the date you went to the police station, the officer you met and what the officer said or did;
• a request that the FIR be registered and the case investigated;
• your signature and the date, with a list of the copies enclosed.

A copy of this letter goes to the Magistrate with your affidavit, so every fact in it must be one you can swear to. A letter that overstates the facts is used against the complainant later.

If nothing happens: Section 175(3) BNSS (old Section 156(3) CrPC)

A Magistrate empowered under Section 210 BNSS may order the police to investigate, after considering an application supported by an affidavit made under Section 173(4), after making such inquiry as the Magistrate thinks necessary, and after considering what the police officer says about it (Section 175(3) BNSS; old Section 156(3) CrPC). In Om Prakash Ambadkar v. State of Maharashtra, 2025 INSC 139, the Supreme Court read three changes from old Section 156(3) CrPC: the prior letter to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) is now a must and its copy has to be filed, supported by an affidavit; the Magistrate may hold an inquiry; and the Magistrate must consider the police officer's submissions on the refusal. The affidavit requirement goes back to Priyanka Srivastava v. State of U.P., (2015) 6 SCC 287.

In Ghaziabad the magistrate who hears the application depends on the police station. The District Court allocation order effective 23.10.2026 assigns one for applications under Sections 173(4) and 174(2) BNSS (old Sections 154(3) and 155(2) CrPC); the court guide has the table for every station.

Or a complaint case: Section 223 BNSS (old Section 200 CrPC)

Instead of asking the Magistrate to send the matter to the police, you can file a complaint before the Magistrate yourself. The Magistrate examines you and your witnesses on oath, and under a new proviso cannot take cognizance without giving the accused an opportunity of being heard (Section 223(1) BNSS). A complaint filed before a Magistrate who cannot take cognizance of it is returned for presentation to the proper court (Section 224 BNSS; old Section 201 CrPC).

The choice turns on the evidence. Where it has to be collected, such as a medical examination, the recovery of articles or CCTV footage, an investigation ordered under Section 175(3) is usually the better route. Where you already hold the evidence, a complaint case keeps the matter in your hands.

Why the High Court is not the first stop

A petition to the Allahabad High Court asking it to direct the police to register an FIR is ordinarily not entertained while these remedies are available. In Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P., (2008) 2 SCC 409, the Supreme Court said that the High Court should ordinarily refuse to interfere, whether by writ or under its inherent power, and send the person first to the senior police officers under Section 173(4) BNSS (old Section 154(3) CrPC) and Section 30 BNSS (old Section 36 CrPC), and if that fails, to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS (old Section 156(3) CrPC). A complaint case is also open. The Court added that the Magistrate can order registration of the FIR and a proper investigation, and monitor it.

What to send the chamber

Send on WhatsApp to +91 98710 27648 a short note of what happened with dates, the police station, the date of your visit and the officer you met, any complaint receipt or entry the station gave you, and the documents you have. The chamber drafts the letter, sends it to the right officers with proof of posting, and, if the police do not act, files the application under Section 175(3) BNSS (old Section 156(3) CrPC) with your affidavit before the magistrate assigned to that police station.

Read next

• Where to file: 498A (now Section 85 BNS), divorce and child custody
• Ghaziabad District Court guide
• Stages of a criminal trial at the Ghaziabad District Court
• When the police call in a matrimonial dispute

Questions people ask