Relevance: GS-2: Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the Protection and Betterment of the Vulnerable Sections.

Key Phrases: First Information Report, Cognizable offence, Warrant, Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Zero FIR, Chargesheet.

What is an FIR:

• The term First Information Report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).
• An FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.

There are three important elements of an FIR:

1. The information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
2. It should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station and,
3. It must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.

Also, “a copy of the information as recorded…shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant”.

Who can file a FIR?

• A FIR can be filed by either :-
  • The Victim himself/herself
  • Any other person on behalf of the victim
  • If you are witness to the offence being committed
  • A police officer can also file an FIR himself

What is a cognizable offence?

• A cognizable offence/case is one in which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule of the CrPC, or under any other law for the time being in force, make an arrest without a warrant.
• In the First Schedule, “the word ‘cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer may arrest without warrant’; and the word ‘non-cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer shall not arrest without warrant’.”

What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?

• The CrPC defines a “complaint” as “any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.”
• However, an FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
  • Case of cognizable offence: If, on the basis of a complaint, it appears that a cognizable offence has been committed, then an FIR under Section 154 CrPC will be registered, and police will open an investigation. If no offence is found, the police will close the inquiry.
  • Case of non-cognizable offence: In case of non-cognizable offences, an FIR under Section 155 CrPC, commonly called “NCR”, is registered, and the complainant will be asked to approach a court for an order. The court may then direct the police to conduct an investigation on the complaint.

What if the police refuse to register an FIR?

• Under Section 154(3) CrPC, if any person is aggrieved by the refusal to register an FIR, she can send the complaint to the Superintendent of Police/DCP concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, will either investigate the case, or direct an investigation by a subordinate police officer.
• If no FIR is registered, the aggrieved persons can file a complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC before a concerned court which, if satisfied that a cognizable offence is made out from the complaint, will direct the police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation.

Supreme Court Bench in Lalita Kumari v. State of Uttar Pradesh 4 (1994) case issued a series of Directions with respect to Registration of FIR, it said, Registration of FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code, if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.

What happens after an FIR is filed?

• The police will investigate the case and will collect evidence in the form of statements of witnesses or other scientific materials. They can arrest the alleged persons as per law.
• If there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of the complainant, then a chargesheet will be filed. Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found will be filed in court.
• If it is found that no offence has been committed, a cancellation report will be filed. If no trace of the accused persons is found, an ‘untraced’ report will be filed.
• However, if the court does not agree with the investigation report, it can order further investigation.

Conclusion:

• Initially, the prospect of registering an FIR in a police station would make people break into a sweat as the process was considered tedious and the fear of police harassment. Also, for police, earlier the process of registering an FIR for each case would take up a lot of time and energy of the staff.
• Now the police departments in different states have introduced an online system to register FIR, check the status and track stolen vehicles online. This saves time, money and most of all, is free of any harassment and with a large percentage of FIRs now being filed online, the police staff has been freed of public pressure which in turn ensures a better FIR follow up and quicker response to complaints filed.

Sources: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. What is a zero FIR? How it is different from any complaints and discuss its importance in ensuring justice to society. [250 words]