First information report

Dr. Praveen Patil

Shahaji Law College
Kolhapur
1. Introduction
2. Meaning of FIR
3. Objectives of FIR
4. Essentials of FIR
5. Recording of FIR
• CRPC
• Guidelines by SC
6. Delay in recording and forwarding of FIR
7. Evidentiary value of FIR
8. Refusal to record FIR
9. False FIR and remedies
10.Remedies for false FIR
11.Quashing of FIR
 Investigation into commission of a crime can be
commenced by two different modes. First, where the
police officer registers an FIR in relation to commission of
a cognizable offence and commences investigation in
terms of Chapter XII of the Code, the other is when a
Magistrate competent to take cognizance in terms of
Section 190 may order an investigation into commission of
a crime as per the provisions of that Chapter XIV.
INTRODUCTION

Setting the criminal law into motion

Bringing the Commission of crime to the notice of magistrate or

police
Cognizable cases to both

Non cognizable cases to magistrate only

 Meaning of FIR

Section 154 (1) “Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given
orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his
direction, and be read Over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in
writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the
substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the
State Government may prescribe in this behalf”

Content of FIR

Time of
Nature of Place of Eye
Offence commission Offender Victims
offence offence witnesses
of offence

State of U.P. v. Naresh and Ors AIR 2011 RCR (Criminal) 364, the Supreme Court observed that,

• “It is settled legal proposition that F.I.R. is not an encyclopedia of the entire case. It may not and need not contain all the details.
Naming of the accused therein may be important but not naming of the accused in F.I.R. may not be a ground to doubt the contents
thereof.”
Section 154 (1) “Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if
given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or
under his direction, and be read Over to the informant; and every such information, whether
given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it,
and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form
as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf”

Analysis of Section 154 brings out the following points:

The information is to be given to an officer in charge of the police station having jurisdiction for investigating the case [Section
154(1)].

If the information is given orally to such officer, it shall be reduced to writing by the officer himself or under his direction [Section
154(1)].

The information, if given in writing, or if reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the informant [Section 154(1)].

The information as taken down in writing shall be read over to the informant [Section 154(1)].

The substance of the information is then to be entered by the police officer in a book kept by him in the prescribed form [Section
154(1)]. This book is called Station Diary or General Diary [Section 44 of the Police Act, 1861].
 OBJECTIVES OF FIR

Make complaint to the police and

Primary objectives
set the law in motion

To obtain early information of

alleged criminal activity to record
Secondary objective the circumstances before there is
time for such circumstance to be
forgotten or embellished
 Characteristics of FIR

Given in writing or
Report of cognizable
orally in which case It is First in point of
cases (non cognizable
the SHO will reduce it time
cases only complaint )
in writing

Given by victim or any

The content of the FIR
one person who has Need be signed by
should be read over to
personal knowledge of informant
the informant
the incident reported
 ZERO FIR: THE CONCEPT

Zero FIR is a FIR that can be filed in any police station regardless of the place of
incidence or jurisdiction

The same is later transferred to the Police Station having competent jurisdiction
after investigation and filing with a magistrate.

The provision of Zero FIR came up as

Ordinary recommendation in Justice Verma
FIR Committee Report in the new Criminal Law
(Amendment) Act, 2013
serially
numbered

Non registration of ZERO FIR invites

prosecution of the police officer under
section 166A which provides a rigorous
imprisonment of six months be extended
to two years. This evasion of responsibility
may invite the departmental action for the
Zero FIR are NOT NUMBERED
police officer.
hence are known as ZERO FIR
 Recording of FIR

Procedure under Supreme court

section 154 guidelines

Procedure under CRPC General procedure (154(1) Special procedure (s.154 proviso)

Copy of FIR shall

be given
Oral information Shall ensure the forthwith, free of
shall be reduced signature of cost, to the
in writing informant informant

Shall be read over Enter the

to him substance of
information in
general diary
 SPECIAL PROCEDURE UNDER CRPC

Procedure under CRPC General procedure (154(1) Special procedure (s.154, proviso)

if the information is given by the woman

such information shall be recorded, by a woman police officer or any
against whom an offence under woman officer;
section 326A, section 326B, section 354,
section 354A, section 354B, section 354C,
section 354D, section 376, section 376A,
section 376AB, section 376B, section 376C, is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, then
section 376D, section 376DA, such information shall be recorded by a police officer, at the
residence of the person seeking to report such offence or at a
section 376DB, section 376E or convenient place of such person’s choice, in the presence of an
section 509 of the Indian Penal Code is interpreter or a special educator, as the case may be;

alleged to have been committed or

attempted

the recording of such information shall be video graphed

Dispatch of the FIR to the Magistrate

In all the cognizable cases instituted on a police report, the Magistrate receives the FIR and notes the accurate time and
date of the receipt of the FIR by him. (Though the provisions of the Cr.P.C. do not indicate that the Magistrate require to
record the time of the receipt of the F I R the rules of practice prescribed by the High Courts made it obligatory to
record such time)

This is important to find out whether there is delay in registration or dispatch of the FIR to the court.

Under section 157 of the Cr. P.C it is the duty of the investigating officer to send the FIR to the court immediately.
The time at which the FIR is received by the Magistrate concerned goes a long way in coming to the conclusion as to the
time at which FIR may have been written, lodged and registered

Failure to send FIR to the Magistrate is a “breach of duty and may go to show that the investigation in the case was not
just, fair and forthright and that the prosecution case must be looked with suspicion

Though unexplained delay in registration of the FIR is considered to be a factor which affects the credibility of the
document, delayed dispatch of the FIR to the Magistrate is not considered so, if it could be shown that the FIR was
actually recorded without delay and the investigation started on the basis of it. In such cases if there is no other infirmity
in the case of prosecution the delayed dispatch of the FIR alone is not considered to conclude that the investigation is
tainted
Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India, 2016 SCC OnLine SC 914

A copy of the First Information Report at an earlier stage than as prescribed under Section 207 of the CrPC to be
given to the accused.

An accused, upon suspicion that his name may be included in the FIR, can submit an application through his
representative for grant of a certified copy before the police officer concerned or to the Superintendent of Police
on payment of fee payable for obtaining such a copy from the Court and such copy shall be made available to him
within 24 hours.

When, on an application being filed for certified copy on behalf of the accused, the FIR is forwarded by the police
station to the Magistrate or any Special Judge concerned , the same shall be given by the Court concerned within
two working days.

The copy of the FIR, except in case of the offence of ‘sensitive’ in nature, like sexual offences, offences pertaining to
insurgency, terrorism, etc., is to be uploaded on the police website or the official website of the State Government
within 24 hours of the registration and within 48 hours in case of connectivity problems due to geographical
location or there is some other unavoidable difficulty. The time can be extended up to a maximum of 72 hours due
to connectivity problems due to geographical location. However, the Court clarified that the offences mentioned as
‘sensitive’ in nature are only illustrative and it is for the competent authority to decide sensitivity of the case.
Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India, 2016 SCC
OnLine SC 914
In case a copy of the FIR is not provided on the ground of sensitive nature of the case, an aggrieved person can
submit a representation to the Superintendent of Police or any person holding the equivalent post in the State,
after disclosing his identity. The Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police in Metropolitan cities shall
constitute a committee of three officers, within 8 weeks of this order, which shall deal with the said grievance
within three days from the date of receipt of the representation and communicate it to the grieved person.

In cases wherein decisions have been taken not to give copies of the FIR regard being had to the sensitive nature
of the case, it will be open to the accused/his authorised representative to file an application for grant of certified
copy before the Court to which the FIR has been sent and the same shall be provided by the Court concerned not
beyond three days of the submission of the application.
 SUPREME COURT GUIDELINES

Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P , 2013

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

If the information received does not disclose a cognizable offence but indicates the necessity
for an inquiry, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted only to ascertain whether cognizable
offence is disclosed or not

If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered. In
cases where preliminary inquiry ends in closing the complaint, a copy of the entry of such
closure must be supplied to the first informant forthwith and not later than one week. It
must disclose reasons in brief for closing the complaint and not proceeding further.
 Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P , 2013

(4) The police officer cannot avoid his duty of registering offence if the cognizable offence is disclosed. Action must be
taken against erring officers who do not register the FIR if the information received by him discloses a cognizable offence.

(5) The scope of preliminary inquiry is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to
ascertain whether the information reveals any cognizable offence.

(6) As to what type and in which cases preliminary inquiry is to be conducted will depend on the facts and
circumstances of each case. The categories of cases in which preliminary inquiry may be made are as under:
1 Matrimonial disputes/ family disputes
2. Commercial offences
3. Medical negligence cases
4. Corruption cases
5. Cases where there is abnormal delay/laches in initiating criminal prosecution, for example, over 3 months
delay in reporting the matter without satisfactorily explaining the reasons for the delay.
 Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P , 2013

(7) While ensuring and protecting the rights of the accused and the
complainant, a preliminary inquiry should be made time bound and in any case,
it should not exceed 7 days. The fact of such delay and the causes of it must be
reflected in the General Diary entry.

(8) Since the General Diary/Station Diary/Daily Diary is the record of all
information received in a police station, we direct that all information relating
to cognizable offences, whether resulting in registration of FIR or leading to an
inquiry, must be mandatorily and meticulously reflected in the said Diary and
the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry must also be reflected, as
mentioned above.
 DELAY IN RECORDING AND FORWARDING OF FIR

No delay in any of the above is

Delay by an informant in lodging F.I.R. fatal as long as it does not
create suspicion in the minds
Delay in recording the F.I.R. by the officer in charge of the police station of the court that the story may
be concocted.
Delay in dispatching the F.I.R. to the magistrate.

On an inordinate, unreasonable and

Amar Singh v. Balwinder Singh AIR 2003 SC 1164 unexplained delay in lodging of the
F.I.R., arises a presumption in law
that the F.I.R. is based on a false or
• “There is no hard and fast rule that fabricated story or afterthought.
any delay in lodging the FIR would Although, if there is no unreasonable
delay, it does not give rise to any
automatically render the prosecution simultaneous presumption that the
case doubtful. It necessarily depends F.I.R. is true. As unreasonable delay
adversely affects the evidentiary value
on facts and circumstances of each of the F.I.R., any delay must be
case.” properly explained.
For corroboration purposes:
7. For establishing identity of
It cannot be ignored
accused, witnesses & for
altogether and can be used 6. For proving informer’s
fixing spot time as relevant
to corroborate the conduct.
facts under Section 9, the
statement of the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
eyewitnesses.

2. For contradicting the

evidence of person giving
5. For impeaching the credit FIR can even become
of an informer. substantial evidence
the information.
in dying declaration
u/s 32 (1) of IEA,
1872

3. For proving as an
4. For refreshing informer’s
admission against the
memory.
informer.
Evidentiary value of FIR
1. F.I.R. could be used for corroborating the informant as per Section 157 and Section 161 of
the Evidence Act but it could not be used for corroborating other prosecution witnesses or
prosecution case in general.
2. F.I.R. could be used for contradicting the informant as per Section 145 of the Evidence Act
but for that firstly, the attention of the informant must be drawn to the relevant portions
where the contradiction occurs. Secondly, explanation should be invited and only then
defence can rely upon the contradiction.
3. F.I.R. can be used by the informant to refresh his memory under Section 159 of the
Evidence Act.
4. F.I.R. can be used for impeaching the credit of the informant under Section 155 of the
Evidence Act.
5. It can also be used for proving the conduct of the informant as per Section 8 of the
Evidence Act.
6. F.I.R. can be used to identify the accused, witnesses, place and time of occurrence as
per Section 9 of Evidence Act.
7. In certain circumstances, it could also be used as per Section 11 of the Evidence Act.
If F.I.R. is made by accused himself then it could be used as per the normal rules of
evidence unless it is in the nature of a confession, as then it will be hit by Section 25 of the
Evidence Act. The position of such case has been discussed in detail in Aghnoo Nagesia
versus State of Bihar AIR 1966 SC 119:-
1.Such an F.I.R. is not inadmissible in evidence
2.If the information is non-confessional then it could be admissible under Section 21
3.If it is confessional in nature then it will become inadmissible except the portion which
will come under Section 27 of the Evidence Act.
4.In this case, Supreme Court for the first time clarified that F.I.R. will be admissible in
evidence as a whole not in parts but with a rider that in case the non-confessional part has
no connection with the confessional part then the former will be relevant under Section
18 and Section 21.

F.I.R. by an accused cannot be treated as evidence against the co-accused.

But in certain circumstances F.I.R. becomes substantive piece of evidence:
1.Under Section 32 of the Evidence Act
2.Under Section 6 of the Evidence Act as res-gestae
3.Under Section 160 of the Evidence Act.
 WHY FIR DOES NOT HAVE Statements in
ANY SUBSTANTIVE the FIR are not
Statements in
EVIDENTIARY VALUE made during the
the FIR are not
trial or at the
made on oath
time of
F.I.R. is not a substantive piece of proceedings
evidence but is a public document as
per Section 74 of the Evidence Act and
its certified copy could be given as
per Section 79 of the Evidence Act.
However, it becomes a substantive piece Statements
Statements
of evidence under certain circumstances recorded by the
recorded in FIR
but S.H.O. cannot give copy of F.I.R. to police officers
the accused unless the police report is has no cross-
are not
ready or else he would be liable under examination in
admissible in
Section 27 of the Police Act, 1861. the Court
court
 REMEDIES IF FIR IS NOT REGISTERED

Prosecution
Disciplinary
Approach SP u/s 166a(c),
Writ of proceedings Contempt
with written failing to
mandamus for petition
complaint record any
“misconduct”
information

False F.I.R.

Under Indian criminal law, lodging a false F.I.R. against someone is a punishable offence u/s 182
and u/s 211 of the Indian Penal Code.
Section 200 – Examination of complainant
Section 201 – Procedure by Magistrate not competent to take cognizance of the case
Section 202 – Postponement of issue of process
Section 203 – Dismissal of complaint
Section 200. Examination of complainant.

A Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence on complaint shall examine upon oath the
complainant and the witnesses present, if any, and the substance of such examination shall
be reduced to writing and shall be signed by the complainant and the witnesses, and also
by the Magistrate:

Provided that, when the complaint is made in writing, the Magistrate need not
examine the complainant and the witnesses-

(a) if a public servant acting or- purporting to act in the discharge of his official duties or a
Court has made the complaint; or

(b) if the Magistrate makes over the case for inquiry or trial to another Magistrate under
section 192: Provided further that if the Magistrate makes over the case to another
Magistrate under section 192 after examining the complainant and the witnesses, the latter
Magistrate need not re- examine them.
FIR Complaint

Executive in nature Judicial in nature

Both cognizable and non-cognizable

Only cognizable offence
offence

Filed by informant Only complaint

Need not be signed Must be signed

Need not be in writing Has to be in writing

FIR Complaint

Section 191 not applicable Section 191 Applicable

Immediate investigation Order of magistrate for investigation

Followed by arrest and search Orders from magistrate needed

First investigation and then reporting Criminal law is set into motion directly

No definition Definition in section 2 (d)

FIR Complaint
May not always be about offence-it may include cases like
breach of peace, information about absconder or Always about commission of crime
suspected person

The purpose of complaint is that the magistrate takes

No action from magistrate is expected at filing level
cognizance of offence and provide relief

No cognizance is taken Magistrate takes cognizance

Can be quashed u/s 482 Cannot be quashed

Copy of FIR is sent to the court immediately u/s 157 No such thing
 OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE

Following five options are available to the Judicial Magistrate who is competent to take cognizance of the case.

Rejection of the com Taking cognizance of

plaint- Order of investigatio
the offence-
n under Sec. 156(3)
inherent powers under chapter XV

Dismissal of the compl

Issuance of process -
aint-
Sec. 200 of Cr. P. C
Sec. 203 of the Cr. P. C