Police Inquest
Definition
Inquest conducted by an SHO or IO under BNSS Section 194 for cases of suicide, accident, animal/machine death or any unnatural death, with a report submitted to the magistrate.
- Jurisdiction
- India, BNSS Section 196
- Conducted by
- Station House Officer or Investigating Officer
- Covers
- Suicide, accident, animal/machine death, unnatural death
- Output
- Report submitted to magistrate
Common questions
How does a police inquest differ from a magisterial inquest?+
A police inquest is conducted by the investigating officer for the categories of death the section covers and results in a report to the magistrate, while a magisterial inquest is conducted directly by a magistrate, typically reserved for deaths in custody or other cases demanding closer judicial scrutiny.
What triggers escalation from a police inquest to a full criminal investigation?+
If the inquest findings or scene evidence suggest foul play rather than an accidental, natural, or self-inflicted death, the case is escalated into a formal criminal investigation with the fuller evidentiary and procedural requirements that entails.
Related terms
- Forensic Medicine
- The medical specialty that applies clinical and pathological knowledge to legal questions, especially cause and manner of death, antemortem injuries, identification, and...
- Inquest
- Legal enquiry into the cause and circumstances of a sudden, suspicious or unnatural death. In India conducted by the police under BNSS...
- Magisterial Inquest
- Inquest conducted by an Executive Magistrate under BNSS Section 196 in custodial death, jail death, dowry death within seven years of marriage,...
- Medico-Legal Expert
- A registered medical practitioner trained in forensic medicine who conducts post-mortems, writes the medico-legal certificate, and gives expert evidence in court. The...
- Sudden Death
- Death occurring within twenty-four hours of the onset of symptoms in a person not previously known to be in a life-threatening state....