Section 192 BNSS: Diary of proceedings in investigation (Formerly Section 172 CrPC)

Section 192 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Diary of proceedings in investigation

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) Every police officer making an investigation under this Chapter shall day by day enter his proceedings in the investigation in a diary, setting forth the time at which the information reached him, the time at which he began and closed his investigation, the place or places visited by him, and a statement of the circumstances ascertained through his investigation.

(2) The statements of witnesses recorded during the course of investigation under section 180 shall be inserted in the case diary.

(3) The diary referred to in sub-section (1) shall be a volume and duly paginated.

(4) Any Criminal Court may send for the police diaries of a case under inquiry or trial in such Court, and may use such diaries, not as evidence in the case, but to aid it in such inquiry or trial.

(5) Neither the accused nor his agents shall be entitled to call for such diaries, nor shall he or they be entitled to see them merely because they are referred to by the Court; but, if they are used by the police officer who made them to refresh his memory, or if the Court uses them for the purpose of contradicting such police officer, the provisions of section 148 or section 164, as the case may be, of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, shall apply.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Inquiry Sec 2(1)(g) Investigation Sec 2(1)(h)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 192

Section 192 mandates the maintenance of a Case Diary by every police officer conducting an investigation, prescribing daily recording of proceedings, pagination, and modernised electronic logging (replacing Section 172 CrPC).

Daily Contemporaneous Record: Officer must enter day by day their proceedings in the investigation in a diary, setting forth time of information, places visited, and statement of circumstances.
Pagination & Tamper-Proof Format: Case diaries must be properly paginated, volume-bound, or recorded in secure digital formats.
Use in Evidence: Court may send for the case diaries to aid the court in an inquiry or trial; accused or counsel cannot see the diaries unless used by the officer to refresh memory or by court for contradiction.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Shamshul Kanwar v. State of U.P. (1995) 4 SCC 430: The Supreme Court held that the case diary is an indispensable safeguard to test the bona fides of the investigation; failure to maintain it day by day or unnumbered loose sheets cast serious doubt on prosecution veracity.
State of Kerala v. Babu (1999) 4 SCC 621: The Supreme Court held that if the investigating officer refreshes memory using the case diary under Section 159 Evidence Act, the accused acquires an absolute statutory right to inspect that portion under Section 161 Evidence Act (Section 144 BSA).
Mukesh v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2017) 6 SCC 1: Reaffirmed that contemporaneous electronic and physical case diary entries corroborate investigative chronology.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Crucial trial technique: When cross-examining the IO, ask questions that induce the officer to consult the case diary to refresh memory regarding dates or times. The moment the IO looks at the diary, invoke *State of Kerala v. Babu* to demand inspection of that entire entry.