The Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that the offence of threatening a witness to give false evidence under Section 195A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is cognisable, and police can register an FIR without requiring a court’s complaint.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe said: “Once the offence under Section 195A IPC is classified as a cognisable offence, the power of the police to take action in relation thereto under Sections 154 CrPC and 156 CrPC cannot be doubted.”

The Justice Sanjay Kumar-headed bench was hearing special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the state of Kerala and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), challenging High Court orders that had quashed proceedings on the ground that such cases required a written complaint from the court concerned under Section 1

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