FIRST INFORMATION REPORT
·
An
information given under sub sec(1) of sec 154 of cr.p.c. is commonly known as
FIR.
·
It is the earliest and the first information of a cognizable
offence recorded by an officer-in-charge of a police station.
·
It
sets the criminal law in motion and start the investigation and submitted the
charge sheet u/s 173 of cr.p.c after completion of investigation.
Essentials of FIR
·
IT
must be first point of time
·
It
must related to the commission of a cognizable offence
·
It
must be made to the officer in charge of a police station.
·
The
information may be given orally or in writing
·
It
must be signed or marked by the informant
·
If
it is orally ,it must reduce to writing
·
A
copy of the FIR shall be given free of cost to the informant
If the information is given by the women
against whom an offence u/s-326 A, 326 B,354,354A-D,376,376 A-E AND 509 OF IPC
is alleged such information shall be recorded by women police officer or any
women officer.
Further provided that this offence have been
committed or attempt is temporarily or permanent mental or physical disabiled
person then such information shall be receive by a police officer at the
residence of that person seeking to report such offence or at the conveninent
place of such person choice.in presence of interpritor or a special educator
Recording of such informanation shall be
vediography.
Evidentiary value of F.I.R:
·
The value of F.I.R depends on the
circumstances of each case, nature of the crime, information and opportunity of
witnessing the offence (AIR 1973 SC 476)
·
F. I. R. is not a substantive piece of
evidence. It can be used either for corroboration under Section 157, or for
contradiction under Section 145 of the Evidence Act, of the maker of the
statement. (State Of Orissa vs Chakradhar Behera And Ors, AIR 1964 Ori 262,)
·
F.I.R can be used to prove
motive,prove previous conduct of accused
·
F.I.R can be used for
cross-examination of informant who gave such information.
·
For refreshing informer's memory.
·
For impeaching the credit of an
informer.
·
For proving informer's conduct.
·
. For establishing identity of
accused, witnesses & for fixing spot time as relevant facts u/s 9 Evidence
Act.
When does F.I.R become substantive evidence
|
1 . During declaration when a person
deposing about the cause of his death had died(dying declaration). |
·
An FIR can be lodged by the victim, a witness to the
incident, or any person with knowledge of the incident.
·
A police officer who come to know the commission of the
cognizable offence can file an FIR.
DELAY OF LODGING OF FIR
?
·
THE LAW has not fixed any time for lodging the fir. As per the law, the first
information report is to be registered as soon as possible so that no time is
wasted and the culprit is caught timely and no danger is present to
others.
·
FIR is an information of first in point of time, Delay
result in embellishment, and danger of introducing of the colour version.
·
Delay lodging FIR without satisfying explained is lucked
upon with the grave suspicion because there are chance of fabrication.
·
Whenever there is a delay it must be properly explaned.
In Bathula Nagamalleswara Rao & Ors.
vs. State Rep. By Public Prosecutor]the Apex Court held that:
“Delay in lodging of FIR, if
justifiably explained, will not fatal. An undue delay in lodging a First
Information Report is always looked with a certain amount of suspicion and
should as far as possible be avoided”.
In
harpal singh vs state of HP AIR 1981 SC 361
DELAY
OF 10 DAYS IN LODGING FIR WAS CONSIDER TO BE JUSTIFIED IN RAPE CASE
------GROUND WAS PRESTAGE OF THE FAMILY ------MEMBER HAD TO BE DECIDED
In State of H P Vs Gian Chand (2001) 6 SCC 71 Hon'ble
Supreme Court of India observed as,
“Delay in lodging the FIR cannot be
used as a ritualistic formula for doubting the prosecution case
and discarding the same solely on the ground of delay in lodging
the first information report. Delay has the effect of putting the
court on its guard to search if any explanation has been offered “for
the delay, and if offered, whether it is satisfactory or not. If the
prosecution fails to satisfactorily explain the delay and there is a
possibility of embellishment in the prosecution version on account of such delay,
the delay would be fatal to the prosecution. However, if the delay
is explained to the satisfaction of the court, the delay cannot by
itself be a ground for disbelieving and discarding the
entire prosecution case”
What
about F.I.R on telephone or telegram OR EMAIL?
Legally a case may not be registered as...
(a) as there is always a doubt about its authenticity
(b) as it does not satisfy the tests of Section 154 Criminal Procedure Code
being not an oral statement reduced into writing; read over, admitted correct
and signed by the informer.
Message to the police on telephone that an
injured person was lying amount to FIR (Sukharam Vs. State of Maharashtra
(1969) 3 SCC, 730.
Any person who is
victim of an offence or who is a witness to any such offence or who has
knowledge about the commission of any such offence can lodge an F.I.R.
The FIR can be got recorded on
telephone or even through e-mail and it is not necessary for the informer to be
present personally before the police for registration of FIR.
Depends on the facts of each case. If not
vague it can be treated as FIR.
A message sent by telephone to the police
officer and recorded by him in his station diary, which discloses an
information regarding a cognizable offense, is First Information Report.
If the telephonic message by any person is not
recorded by the police inspector into writing and signed duly, it will not be
considered as a First Information Report.
At many police stations in India, even an
email or WhatsApp message can be registered as a First Information Report,
provided they are not vague and comes under the ambit of information as
provided in section 154.[1]
Can
your later version become an F.I.R
FIR will remain the same on which the
investigation was started. The later statement being during investigation, even
if found true cannot become F.I.R
Two FIR's -
Quashing - When facts disclose prima facie cognizable case and also disclose
remarkable identity between two FIRs as if the first FIR is filed second time
with no change in allegations then Court may, in appropriate case, consider it
proper to quash the second FIR. (2018(1) Criminal Court Cases 001
(S.C.)
What if an accused person lodges an F.I.R himself?
Sometimes it so happens that accused after
commission of crime goes to Police Station and lodges an F.I.R, the procedural
legal provision as well as the Indian Evidence Act are mentioned as under:-.
1. Sec.162 Criminal Procedure Code. does not hit such F.I.R.
2. Sec.25 Indian Evidence Act, is applicable if the statement is in the nature
of confession but is relevant u/s 21 of the Indian Evidence Act..
3. Sec.25 of the Indian Evidence Act "No confession made to a Police
Officer shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence may it be
before or after investigation."
4. If the information is non-confessional, it is admissible against the accused
as an admission U/S 18/21 of the Indian Evidence Act and is relevant.
5. For corroborating the statement of the maker under section 157 of the Indian
Evidence Act.
6. For contradiction of the evidence of person giving the information U/S 145
of the Indian Evidence Act.
7. For refreshing informers memory U/S 159 of the Indian Evidence Act.
8. For impeaching the credit o f an informer U/S 155 of the Indian Evidence
Act.
9. For proving the informers conduct U/S 8 of the Indian Evidence Act.
10. U/S 32(1) of Indian Evidence Act (Dying declaration)
11. U/S 6 Evidence Act when the injuries are being caused in the presence of
SHO in a Police Station.
12. U/S 160 Evidence Act when the informer fails to recall his memory the
facts, but he is sure the facts were correctly reported in the FIR at the time
he wrote, read it.
13. FIR is a public document prepared U/S 154 Criminal Procedure Code and a
certified copy of it can be given in evidence U/S 77 of Indian Evidence
Act.
14. The FIR by an accused person cannot be treated as an evidence against any
co-accused, as it was lodged by the accused and not by a witness.
But if information is received that injured had been shot and had been removed
to Hospital, it is sufficient for registration of case.
As such every case depends upon its own circumstances and the police officer
should exercise his own judgement and diligence to test the information if it
is clear, definite and based upon tangible facts to disclose commission of
cognizable or suspicion of commission of a cognizable offence.
What to do If Police Refuse To Register FIR
It is a common notion that
people are often refused an FIR registration
If
you are reporting a crime and the police denies to register your FIR on
unreasonable grounds, you can make a complaint to a higher ranking officer. If
the Police still deny lodging your FIR, you can make a formal complaint
to the nearest judicial magistrate, who will direct the police to register the
FIR if deemed necessary. Various States as well as the National Human Rights
Commission provide the service of e-complaints where these complaints against
the defaulter police officials can be filled on the Network Channel.
Can the police refuse to file my complaint?
Yes
and no. A police officer can refuse to file your complaint if he believes the
case is of petty issue or also if they don’t have the territorial jurisdiction
in such cases. Crimes are generally segregated into “cognizable” and “non-cognizable”
offences. FIRs are lodged only for cognizable crimes, for non-cognizable crimes
a complaint is submitted to the magistrate who in return directs the police for
action.
IF
A person has a grievance that the policcce station is not registration his FIR
U/S=154 CR.P.C.
THEN HE CAN
approach the Superintendent of Police u/s 154
(3) of Cr.p.c. In written.
Even if that does
not yield any satisfied result ,it open from him to file a application u/s-156
(3) is filed before the magistrate. The magistrate can direct the FIR TO BE
REGISTRED AND ALSO CAN DIRECCT a proper
investigation can made. The magistrate can also on same provision
Monitor the
investigation.
A
written Complaint in the form of a Letter may be made to the concerned Judicial
/ Metropolitan Magistrate, and the Magistrate is empowered to take cognizance
of the said letter complaint by virtue of section 190 of CrPC, 1973. However,
the Magistrate concerned is at discretion to act or not to act on the said
Letter Complaint.
he
may prefer an oral / written Complaint before Judicial Magistrate /
Metropolitan Magistrate u/s 200 of CrPC, 1973; and the Magistrate after
examining the Complainant and his witnesses, may issue Summons / Warrant u/s
204 of CrPC, 1973, against persons made accused in the complaint. The
Magistrate in his discretion, before issuance of Summons / Warrant, u/s 202 of
CrPC, 1973, may conduct an inquiry by himself or cause an inquiry to b
conducted by a Police Officer
A
Writ Petition in the respective High Court may be filed for the issuance of
Writ of Mandamus against the defaulting Police officers, inter alia, to
Register the FIR and directing him to show cause
Section 166A(c) now, expressly makes a
punishable offence if the Public servant concerned fails to record any
information given to him under sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, in relation to cognizable offence punishable under
section 326A, section 326B, section 354, section 354B, section 370, section
370A, section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D,
section 376E or section 509 of the Indian Penal Code.
Supreme Court Guidelines on FIR
Lalita Kumari v Government of Uttar Pradesh
and Others,
Criminal Original Jurisdiction, Writ Petition (Criminal) No 68 OF 2008, Supreme
Court of India judgement dated November 12, 2013: The Supreme Court held that:
i)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.
ii) 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.
iii) 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.
iv) The police
officer cannot avoid his duty of registering offence if cognizable offence is
disclosed. Action must be taken against erring officers who do not register the
FIR if information received by him discloses a cognizable offence.
v) 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.
vi) 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 category of
cases in which preliminary inquiry may be made are as under:
a) Matrimonial
disputes/ family disputes
b) Commercial
offences
c) Medical
negligence cases
d) Corruption
cases
e) 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 delay
The
police officer is duty bound to lodge FIR in every cognizable case. And if a
police officer gets a complaint from an aggrieved person about the cognizable
offense, he must lodge a FIR
What is a
Zero FIR?
A Zero FIR allows for any police
station to register an FIR, regardless of their jurisdictional area. It
is usually used for crimes such as murder and rape and other cognizable
offences, i.e. an offence for which police can take action without prior court
approval. Initial action and investigation is conducted before it is
transferred to the appropriate jurisdictional station as required. It is
helpful for crimes that require immediate response as it allows for swifter
action that is not bogged down by bureaucratic procedure as well as accounts
for whether the police station under whose jurisdiction the crime was committed
is not easily accessible.
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