Cognizable and non-cognizable offence:
Generally, cognisable offence means a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court. By contrast, in the case of a non-cognisable offence, a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order. The police can file a FIR only for cognisable offences.Normally, serious offences are defined as cognisable and usually carry a sentence of 3 years or more. Cognizable offences would be severe acts such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping. These are the sorts of crimes that Police may act independently to arrest suspects immediately, and so they are authorized to affect the arrest and to mount a further investigation, autonomously of the Court.
Non-cognizable offences would be not very severe acts like shoplifting, failure to renew a license, petty theft. For these, Police are not authorized to act independently to arrest a suspect and must present a case to the Court in order to prosecute an arrest, at which time they will also be charged with investigating the case fully.
The dividing line between cognizable and non-cognizable is the extent harm to the person of a victim or of risk to life or limb of others that may be involved, or the gross extent of loss of property involved or possible.
Similar principle has to be followed in regard to offences committed under the CGST/SGST Act. In section 73 (4) of Model CGST/SGST Law, it is provided that the offences relating to taxable goods and /or services where the amount of tax evaded exceeds Rs. 2.5 crores, shall be cognizable and non-bailable. Other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable.
In case a person is arrested for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the officer carrying out the arrest can grant him bail in accordance with Section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. This section provides that when any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station, or appears or is brought before a Court, and is prepared at any time while in the custody of such officer or at any stage of the proceeding before such Court to give bail, such person shall be released on bail. It further provides that where such officer or Court, if he or it thinks fit, may, instead of taking bail from such person, discharge him on his executing a bond without sureties for his appearance.