Section 168 BNSS 2023 - Police to Prevent Cognizable Offences

Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 begins Chapter XII, titled "Preventive Action of the Police". It gives every police officer authority to intervene for the purpose of preventing a cognizable offence and also places a positive duty on the officer to prevent such an offence to the best of his ability.

In simple terms: Section 168 is a preventive provision. A police officer need not wait for a cognizable offence to be completed if preventive intervention is lawfully possible. The section combines a power to interpose with a duty to act to the best of the officer's ability.

Text of Section 168 BNSS - Police to prevent cognizable offences

168. Every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, to the best of his ability, prevent, the commission of any cognizable offence.

Meaning of "cognizable offence" under BNSS

Section 2(1)(g) of the BNSS defines a "cognizable offence" as an offence for which, and a "cognizable case" as a case in which, a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule or under any other law for the time being in force, arrest without warrant.

What Section 168 requires from the police

The wording of Section 168 has two distinct parts:

Power to interpose: every police officer may intervene for the purpose of preventing the commission of a cognizable offence.
Duty to prevent: every police officer shall, to the best of his ability, prevent the commission of a cognizable offence.

The provision is therefore directed at prevention rather than punishment. It operates before the contemplated cognizable offence is completed and forms part of the statutory framework for preventive police action.

Section 168 and the surrounding preventive provisions

Provision	Subject	How it relates to Section 168
Section 168	Police to prevent cognizable offences	States the general preventive power and duty of every police officer.
Section 169	Information of design to commit cognizable offences	Requires communication of information about a design to commit a cognizable offence to superior and other responsible officers.
Section 170	Arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offences	Permits preventive arrest without warrant in the circumstances specified in that section.
Section 171	Prevention of injury to public property	Allows a police officer to interpose to prevent specified injury to public property or public landmarks.
Section 172	Persons bound to conform to lawful directions of police	Supports preventive police duties by requiring compliance with lawful directions given in fulfilment of duties under Chapter XII.

Does Section 168 itself create a power of arrest?

Section 168 itself states the general power and duty to prevent cognizable offences. The specific preventive arrest power appears in Section 170, subject to the conditions stated there. Accordingly, Section 168 should be read with the other provisions of Chapter XII instead of being treated as a standalone arrest provision.

Practical scope of preventive action

The form of preventive action will depend on the facts, the nature of the anticipated cognizable offence, the information lawfully available to the police, and the powers conferred by the BNSS or other applicable law. Any police action must remain within statutory authority and the safeguards applicable to the particular step taken.

Important: Section 168 is not a general licence for unrestricted police action. It imposes a preventive duty, but any coercive step such as arrest must be supported by the specific legal power governing that step.

BNSS commencement

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 46 of 2023. The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which its provisions came into force, subject to the notified exception concerning the First Schedule entry relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Related BNSS provisions

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026.