Important elements of criminal offences under Indian criminal laws

An FIR is a written document which is filed by the police to report a criminal offence to be investigated by the authorities. An individual can file an FIR by visiting a police station top 5 criminal lawyers in bangalore in the locality where the crime took place. Under Section 154 of the Cr.P.C., the law gives a preference of choosing to provide information either orally or in writing.

Bail
A bail refers to the temporary discharge of an accused in criminal cases, wherein the trial is pending and the court is yet to reach an inference. The laws relating to Brazil and bail bonds are discussed under Section 436-450 of the Cr.P.C.

There are three types of bail, namely:

Regular bail,
Interim bail, and
Anticipatory bail.
Evidence
Evidence establishes facts. It is used in trials to establish the validity or invalidity of certain facts. For example, the evidence of a bloody fingerprint would aid in speculating the fact that the individual was present at the scene of the crime.

There are four types of evidence, namely:

Real evidence,
Demonstrative evidence,
Documentary evidence, and
Testimonial evidence.
Offences

Depending on the nature and gravity of the offence, they can be categorized as follows:

Cognizable and non-cognizable offences.
Bailable and non-bailable offences.
Compoundable and non-compoundable offences.
Cognizable and non-cognizable offences
Cognizable

A cognizable offence is an offence in which the police can arrest an accused without a warrant and can carry out an enquiry without seeking prior approval from the court. Under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Court, a police officer has to lodge an FIR in cases of cognizable offences, and he can also conduct an investigation before filing the FIR.

Examples of cognizable offences
Some of the examples of a cognizable offence are as follows:

Waging or attempting to wage war, or abetting the waging of war against the government of India,
Murder,
Rape,
Dowry death,
Kidnapping,
Theft,
Criminal breach of trust,
Unnatural offences, etc.
Non-cognizable offences

A non-cognizable offence is an offence wherein a police officer cannot arrest the accused without a warrant, nor can he start an enquiry without seeking approval from the court.

Examples of non-cognizable offences
Some of the examples of non-cognizable offences include:

Forgery,
Cheating,
Defamation,
Public nuisance, etc.