Filling of An FIR

Submitted By:
Vinayak Bhatia
LL.B. 2018-21
A3256118043
 Introduction

Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C) is the procedural substantive legislation for criminal law
in India1 that provides machinery for investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected
criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person
and the determination of punishment of guilty.

FIR is a written document prepared by the police department of a few countries like India,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc. FIR as defined u/s 154, Cr.P.C. 1973 is information in oral or written
format, given to an officer in charge of a police station for a cognizable offense. FIR to a police
officer is the first step for an individual to access the machinery given by Cr.P.C. and hence
gets justice through the prescribed means for specific offenses.

As pronounced by the supreme court of India in the case of Lalita Kumari vs Government of
U.P. & Ors.2, brought light on the laws relating to registration of an FIR are such that if any
information disclosed to a police officer is of cognizable nature, no initial inquiry is required
in such cases.

The nature of FIR is such that, it does not disclose a cognizable offense, but rather points to the
necessity of an inquiry. This inquiry is done to make sure that the offense was cognizable.

If the initial investigation supports the cognizance of the offense, the FIR is registered. In cases
when the preliminary investigation concludes to closing the complaint, such entry of
information should be supplied to the complainant in no later than a week, with all the reasons
to do so.

A cognizable offense is one where a police officer can arrest a person without a warrant, in
accordance with the laws under the first schedule of The Police Act, 1861 or according to other
laws for the being in force.

It is said by the Supreme Court that a police officer cannot deny his avoid its duty to file an
offense of cognizable nature is disclosed. If a police officer does not register an FIR, the matter
should be taken to the Superintendent of Police(SP) through a registered post.

1
Bharti, Dalbir (2005). The Constitution and criminal justice administration. APH Publishing. p. 320.
2
WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. 68 OF 2008
The nature of FIR is to make sure that the information provided for the offense reveals its
cognizable nature. The facts and circumstances of each case define what kind of preliminary
investigation is needed.

The scope of FIR is to ensure and protect the rights of the accused and the complainant, creating
a balance of rights to ensure the power to the common man is not being maliciously used.

This preliminary inquiry is time-bounded, with a reasonable time of being fifteen days and with
adequate reasons provided it could exceed up to 6 weeks, and the authority is bound to reflect
this delay in the General Diary entry.

With technological advancements, few FIR related to lost or a document or an article can be
registered online or through any mode of official communication to the police.

1. Power of Police to Arrest Without Warrant

A police officer can arrest a person for a cognizable offense committed by him without a
warrant. The rights of an arrested person are mentioned in Article 20 and 21 of the Indian
Constitution. The power to a police officer to deprive one of their personal liberty guaranteed
under article 21 is validated through article 22 and section 41 of the Cr.P.C.

Condition for making an arrest without warrant:

1. The offense must be a cognizable offense.

2. The imminent necessity of the arrest.
3. A reasonable complaint or credible information.
4. Local jurisdiction of the police.
5. Arresting a proclaimed offender.
6. Suspicion of stolen property.
7. Arresting a deserter of armed forces.
8. Obstruction of duty of a police officer.
9. Non-compliance of notice given by a police officer.
10. Arresting a person who has escaped lawful custody.
In the case of Joginder Kumar3 and Laxminarayan,4 the apex court has observed that a police
officer while making an arrest keeps in mind the sensitive nature of an arrest while keeping in
consideration all the facts and circumstances.

It is important for police that while making an arrest of a woman the laws have complied
thoroughly. Apex court has emphasized in the case of St. of Maharastra v. Christina
Community Welfare5 that a female police officer must be present at the time of arrest while
considering the time of the day for arrest.

2. FIR and Police Complaint

FIR is registered by a victim, a witness or anyone with the knowledge of the crime. The police
are obliged to read back the FIR back to the complainant in case it has conversed with them
orally to avoid different versions of the information6. It is the duty of the complaint to report
to the police station in person in case he had given the information on a telephone 7. Similar
observations have been noted in the case of Tohal Singh vs State of Rajasthan8.

As per Indian Criminal Law, the informant is entitled to get a copy of the information report
lodged by him at the police station free of cost. Sec. 207, Cr.P.C. entitles the accused to get a
copy of FIR, in the form of a chargesheet on completion of the investigation by the officer.

On further analyzing the Sec. 173 (5) and (7) of the Cr.P.C. it can be implied that the police
may also provide a copy of the FIR to the accused free of cost, on filing the chargesheet. The
essential condition for the Sec. 207 and 173 is that the police must have filed the chargesheet
in the concerned matter.

The important difference in between an FIR and a police complaint is that an FIR relates to
cognizable offense whereas a police complaint can for non-cognizable offenses aswell.

Sometimes police may refuse to lodge an FIR. This can be both legal and illegal.

3
Joginder Kumar vs State of U.P., (1994) SCC 260.
4
Laxminarayan Vishwanath Arya vs State of Maharastra, 2007 (5) Mh.L.J.7.
5
(2003) 8 SCC 546.
6
Hallu vs State of M.P., 1974 AIR 1936.
7
Accessed at: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/02/04/IND103687.E.pdf
8
Tohal Singh vs State of Rajasthan, 1989 Cri LJ 1350 (Raj HC)
 3. The information which is not considered for FIR

Chapter XII of the Cr.P.C. deals with the information to the police and their powers to
investigate. Such powers have a broad spectrum and extend beyond cognizable and non-
cognizable matters. Power to investigate is an inherent power and cannot be encroached.

In the case of S.N. Basak,9the court held that it is the statutory right of the police to carry on an
investigation under Chapter XII before a prosecution is launched, cannot be interfered with the
Courts either u/s 401 (High Court’s Power of Revision) or 482 (Saving of Inherent Power of
High Court) of the code.

Sec. 154, Cr.P.C. requires that every information regarding the commission of any cognizable
offense to be reduced to writing either by police in charge or under his direction. ‘First
Information Report’, is not mentioned in the Cr.P.C. but these words are understood to mean
information recorder under this section10.

Sometimes the information being passed on to a police officer might not cross the threshold of
a credible income. The police are in full liberty to interpret the situation in hand and the make
a view of the credible information and to act or not on it.

Since the power to investigate is an inherent power of the police. Police have to work on their
gut instincts to understand the gravity of the information.

In computers, it is said that if you input a garbage value to a computer it will return a garbage
value. Garbage in, garbage out. This principle is applicable to other such mechanisms that work
on the concept of putting an input for an autonomous desired output.

When sophisticated machinery for criminal justice is inputted with a garbage value of
information especially through the easiest way of a phone call, it might lead to an investigation
under the spirit of rule of law. This is an abrogation of the system.

Just like any other computer program in order to be protected from garbage value, an algorithm
is used to detect a garbage input before it is processed or investigated within the functionality
of the program. Similarly, the only way to avoid misuse or underuse of the criminal justice
system of India, the police officers recording information which would be worked on in

9
State Of West Bengal vs S. N. Basak, 1963 AIR 447, 1963 SCR (2) 52.
10
Mani Mohan Ghose vs Emperor, AIR 1931 Cal 745.
procuring justice for the common man, acts as those lines of algorithm which would be
detecting garbage input to the criminal justice system, before the prosecution starts.

4. FIR as a Fundamental Right

Registration of an FIR is the right of the complainant and obligation of police in case of a
cognizable offense. The same has also been held by the Supreme Court in the case of Lallan
Chaudhary11.

In our legal ecosystem, the doors of justice are opened through the awareness of the citizens
about their rights. Like any other property rights, the right to get justice is an intangible right
of a person in regards to the fulfillment of the dream of our constitution-makers, who wished
to formulate the implied duty of law, to help a person achieve their full potential. When a wrong
happens to an individual then the only ray of hope they have is that police will hear the
aggrieved and help facilitate in the mental and monetary recovery of the same individual by
taking the wrongdoer to the court of law.

In case of a breach of this right, the remedy is a casual term of the protest petition.

5. Protest Petition

The term protest petition is nowhere defined under the criminal law in India. When a person is
not satisfied by the report filed by the police, the same person may move against such police
report in court of law, and the negative police report shall be considered as basis for the
complaint petition, flaws in the police investigation may be utilized as the justification for the
admission of the complaint petition. The complaint petition may be run in 3 ways described as
following :

• where the petition is rejected and the police report is accepted

11
Lallan Chaudhary and Ors. vs State of Bihar and Ors., AIR 2006 SC 3376.
• where the police report is not rejected but the complaint petition is allowed to run
simultaneously to the case involving the police report

• where the police report is rejected and the complaint is taken as the basis for an
investigation directed by the court to be carried out by the police, or any other individual or
institution who shall have all the powers conferred on the police except the power to arrest
without a warrant.

The sections which have been referred to draw the above conclusions are section 156(3)
Cr.P.C., section 190(1)(b) Cr.P.C., section 200 Cr.P.C. and section 202 Cr.P.C.

Under section 190, Cr.P.C., the requisitives for initiating a proceeding is given12. These
provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code give the judiciary an opportunity to check the
executive branch of the government and hold the executive accountable for the errors that it
may make while dealing with ailments or issues of the huge population of India. The
Magistrates have been given the individual responsibility to represent the fairness and
understanding of the judiciary of the concerns of a billion and more people.

Article 14 of our Indian Constitution ensures every citizen that equality is there before the law.
This “Equality before the law” is one of the key essentials of ‘Rule of Law’ and is elaborated
by Professor A.V. Dicey in explaining rule of law and hence Indian Constitution silently invites
rule of law into its constitutional machinery. When an employee of the executive wing of our
constitutional machinery fails to follow his judgment to the required depth and wrongly takes
the cognizance of an offense, it can be considered a failure of the machinery set on the
principles of our nation’s constitution-makers. The well educated political leaders of their time,
had the most difficult task in-hand, which was to make a country running. With the sovereign
being the ‘People of India’ the sole purpose of the Indian Government is to maintain law and
order. Hence, it’s the rule of law that is guiding the Indian Government in fulfilling the duties
prescribed by the founding fathers of India, with prima facie to help an individual attain
themselves truest potential, and these are prescribed in Chapter III and IV of the Indian
Constitution.

Constitution in its Chapter III read along with Chapter IV, empowers every citizen to seek for
remedies for breach of their right to get constitutional remedies, for omission of an act which
would have lead to proving the FIR was actually justifiable and cognizable in nature but was

12
Mohd. Safi vs State of Bengal, AIR 1966 SC 69: 1966 CrLJ 75, 1965, 3 SCR 467.
marked close for some valid reason in the discretion of the police officer-in-charge. A protest
petition is a silent name for this particular kind of petition against the negative complaint of the
police.

Since petition is a formal request for a cause by individual or individuals, it empowers the
magistrate to consider a particular case’s negative police complaint and take cognizance of the
complaint, just like a police officer is empowered to enter a premises without a warrant, a
magistrate is also allowed in special circumstances in the interest of the society to start the
court proceedings for the same.

6. Evidentiary Value of FIR

FIR is a document that is not a substantive piece of evidence and cannot be relied on by the
prosecuting agency for conviction of the accused. FIR is a statement and not in the form of an
oath. The veracity of statements made to the police is not tested by cross-examination. The
same has been upheld by the court in the case of Dharma Rama Bhagare13.

If the FIR to a police officer is of confessional nature, it becomes inadmissible in the court of
law, u/s 25 of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It has been held in Aghnoo Nagesia 14 case that
FIR given by the accused is categorized as inadmissible as evidence.

If the FIR by the accused is of non-confessional nature, it can still be admitted to the court.
Unless specifically admitted, the FIR cannot be used against oneself.

7. Chargesheet

After a cognizable complaint is made in the form of an FIR, to a police officer, he is duty-
bound to look into the matter and later submit a final complaint to the magistrate. This final
complaint is in the form of chargesheet. A chargesheet is only for the offense which is criminal

13
Dharma Rama Bhagare vs State of Maharastra, AIR 1973 SC 476.
14
Aghnoo Nagesia vs State of Bihar, AIR 1966 SC 119.
in nature and is a wrong against the state. A chargesheet format generally contains in a numeric
order of twenty-one rows of specific information, which is required u/s 173 Cr.P.C.

1. A chargesheet contains the details of the investigation team, who’s office holds the
jurisdiction of investigating the cognizable information, along with F.I.R. records number.

2. Secondly, it would contain the charge sheet number, and thirdly the date of filing the final
or in cases filing a connected chargesheet to a previous matter.

3. Fourth, it would contain the sections under which the accused was booked and arrested.

4. Fifth would be the type of final which would be being submitted by the officer in accordance
with any law, which required him to do so. Sixth contains the signature, with the date of
whoever approved of that chargesheet. Seventh contains the details if the chargesheet is
original or supplementary. Eight contains the name of the investigating officer.

5. Nine, a chargesheet would include details about the of the complainant.

6. Ten, a chargesheet would have the details all the evidence gathered during the investigation,
eleven has the details of the accused, which would include name, and other basic details of the
identification of the person who has been booked under the chargesheet. Twelve would contain
details of accused who were not mentioned in the FIR or the chargesheet, but were arrested
while investigating the actual accused.

7. Thirteen, a chargesheet contains particulars of examined witnesses, the list of documents

supporting the chargesheet and a list of articles gathered as evidence.

8. Fourteen contains the action taken, in case the information supplied for the FIR was false.

9. Fifteen contains the forensic laboratory test results which support the chargesheet.

10. Sixteen and seventeen contain the brief of the case, along with investigation details and the
conclusion of the investigation respectively.

11. Eighteen states the charges in detail.

12. Nineteen has the record of the date when the final chargesheet was signed,

13. Twenty has details about the number of enclosures and twenty-one in about the list of
enclosures.
Previous Articles:

1. Bhatia, V. (2019, September 21). Cancellation of FIR Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali. Retrieved
November 4, 2019, from http://legalseva.net/entries/criminal/cancellation-of-fir-chandigarh-
panchkula-mohali.
2. Bhatia, V. (2019, September 18). What is a Protest Petition in Criminal Law? Retrieved
November 4, 2019, from http://legalseva.net/entries/criminal/what-is-protest-petition-in-
criminal-law-.