Question

Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, if a police officer-in-charge determines that an investigation is not warranted because the case lacks sufficient gravity, they are legally obligated to notify the informant of this decision within:

• A. 30 days
• B. 24 hours
• C. 14 days
• D. 7 days

Hint:

Under BNSS Section 173, transparency is key. If the police close a file for lack of gravity, they have exactly 14 days to update the informant!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

1. 24 hours: Far too tight a window for an officer to assess whether a case lacks gravity, record reasons, and then reach out to the informant, so this can be set aside straightaway.
2. 30 days: This overshoots the mark. A full month would leave the informant waiting unreasonably long to learn that no investigation is being taken up.
3. 7 days: Closer, but still shorter than the actual figure written into the provision.
4. 14 days: This is the exact period the BNSS gives. When a police officer-in-charge decides a matter is not serious enough to investigate, the informant has to be told of that call within 14 days.

Working through the timeframes in order shows that 14 days is the figure the provision actually sets.

Answer 2

One of the goals behind the BNSS was to stop complainants from being left completely in the dark when the police quietly decide not to pursue a case. To achieve that, the law attaches a fixed clock to the officer's duty to inform. Each option below is a candidate for that clock.

1. 30 days: Too generous a window for what is meant to be a prompt update, and it is not the figure written into the section.
2. 24 hours: Unrealistically short given that the officer must first form an opinion on the gravity of the case and record reasons before the informant can even be told.
3. 14 days: This is the correct figure. After concluding that a case lacks sufficient gravity to justify an investigation, the officer-in-charge must communicate that decision to the informant within 14 days.
4. 7 days: Sounds plausible but is not the timeline the provision actually adopts; it undershoots the true figure.

The notification safeguard built into this provision is tied to a 14 day window, not any of the other periods listed.

Therefore, the correct answer is 14 days.