Understanding of criminal cases is important before hiring the best criminal lawyer in Gurgaon. Criminal cases are classified into various types, not all are considered serious for the gravity of their offence. For instance, rape and murder are serious criminal cases, whereas bribery, and financial fraud are less serious. In this blog, you will understand various types of criminal cases in India.

Types of Criminal Cases in India

There are six types of criminal cases depending upon the gravity of the offence in India.

1. Bailable and Non-Bailable Offenses
In bailable criminal cases, the accused has the right to get bail i.e. The accused pays a sum of money to the honourable court and requests for release during the criminal trial. Bailable offenses are less serious in nature, hence, as per section 436 of the code of criminal procedure the accused has the right to ask for bail in specific cases. Cheating, and bribery are some of the examples of bailable offenses.

On the contrary, non-bailable offenses are those offenses under which the accused can get imprisonment of more than 3 years/ life imprisonment or the death penalty. In such cases, the release of the accused can affect the criminal proceeding due to witness threatening, proof tempering etc. Here, bail depends upon the discretion of the court. 

2. Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offenses
The term ‘cognizable’ means ‘capable of being known’. In cognizable cases, due to the gravity of the offense committed, the police officials can directly arrest the accused person. Here, police register FIR without Magistratal permission, record the case in the general diary and start their investigation. Rape, murder, and decoity falls under this category. 

On the other hand, the law does not permit police officials to arrest anyone in absence of a proper warrant. Cases, where police need a prior warrant to arrest any person falls under non-cognizable offenses. The police ask for the Magistrate's approval before registering an FIR and later start their investigation.

3. Compoundable and Non-Compoundable Offenses
There are certain cases where parties can go for compromise. Such cases fall under compoundable offenses. Cases that fall under section 320 of CrPC are referred as compoundable. Whereas the ones that are absent from this list are non-compoundable offenses. 

In compoundable cases, the victim may agree to drop charges against the accused. Aggrieved parties can mutually settle their cases and reach a settlement. However, in non-compoundable cases, mutual settlement is not possible as law accepts such cases as a potential danger for society.

Apart from this, there are various types of trials like complaint trials, session trials, warrant trials and more. To have a better understanding of these trials and to know your legal rights, you can reach Sapna Malik, the renowned criminal lawyer in Gurgaon directly.
 

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