CrPC § 156 — Investigation into cognizable cases

Statutory text (English)

(1) Any officer in charge of a police-station may, without the order of
a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a Court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of
such station would have power to inquire into or try under the provisions of Chapter XV relating to the place of
inquiry or trial.

(2) No proceeding of a police-office in any such case shall at any stage be called in question on the ground that
the case was one which such officer was not empowered under this section to investigate.

(3) Any Magistrate empowered under section 190 may order such an investigation as above-mentioned.
2[
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections

(1),

(2) or

(3), no police-officer shall investigate an
offence under section 497 or section 498 of the Pakistan Penal Code, except upon a complaint made by the husband of
the woman, or, in his absence, by some person who had the care of such woman on his behalf at the time when such
offence was committed.].

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.156: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 78, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 78) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment version…

Read this provision with care

This is a public reference to a stored statute record, not legal advice or a case-specific interpretation. Check the latest official gazette, applicable amendments and jurisdiction before relying on the text. A citation and verification label describe the record in this app; they cannot confirm that no later change has occurred. For a real legal matter, consult a licensed advocate.

Use the full CrPC section index to compare nearby provisions, or return to search.