CrPC § 173 — Report of police-officer

Statutory text (English)

1[
(1) Every investigation under this Chapter shall be completed without
unnecessary delay, and as soon as it is completed, the officer in charge of the police-station shall 2[,through
the Public Prosecutor,]
(a) forward to a Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence on a police-report a
report, in the form prescribed by the 3[Provincial Government], setting forth the names of the
parties, the nature of the information and the names of the persons who appear to be acquainted
with the circumstances of the case, and stating whether the accused (if arrested) has been
forwarded in custody or has been released on his bond, and, if so, whether with or without
sureties, and
(b) communicate, in such manner as may be prescribed by the 3[Provincial Government], the action
taken by him to the person, if any, by whom the information relating to the commission of the
offence was first given [:]2
2[
Provided that, where investigation is not completed within a period of fourteen days from the date of
recording of the first information report under section 154, the officer in charge of the police station shall,
within three days of the expiration of such period, forward to the Magistrate through the Public Prosecutor,
an interim report in the form prescribed by the Provincial Government stating therein the result of the
investigation made until then and the
Court shall commence the trial on the basis of such interim report, unless, for reasons to be recorded, the
Court decides that the trial should not so commence.]

(2) Where a superior officer of police has been appointed under section 158, the report shall, in any
cases in which the
[Provincial Government] by general or special order so directs, be submitted through
that officer, and he may, pending the orders of the Magistrate, direct the officer in charge of the police-
station to make further investigation.

(3) Whenever it appears from a report forwarded under this section that the accused has been released
on his bond, the Magistrate shall make such order for the discharge of such bond or otherwise as he thinks
fit.
2[
(4) A copy of any report forwarded under this section shall, on application, be furnished to the
accused before the commencement of the inquiry or trial:

Provided that the same shall be paid for unless the Magistrate for some special reason thinks fit to
furnish it free of cost.]
3[
(5) Where the officer in charge of a police-station forwards a report under sub-section

(1), he shall
along with the report produce the witnesses in the case, except the public servants, and the Magistrate shall
bind such witnesses for appearance before him or some other Court on the date fixed for trial.]

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.173: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 87, 88, 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. 87, 88) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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