First Information Report Shajeeda Tajdeen Legal Article Fri, Feb 21, 2020, at ,11:43 AM Introduction: The term (FIR) also known as First Information Report has not been defined anywhere in the Indian Laws. However, the following points make it easy to understand the concept of FIR. It is a piece of information which is given to the police officer. The information must relate to a cognizable offence. It is a piece of information first in point of time. It is on the basis of this information that the investigation into the offence commences. The information given to the police officer and reduced into the writing as required by section 154 of Cr.PC is called as First Information Report. It is on the basis of this report that investigation of cognizable offences commences under this section. Sec. 154 Cr.PC, 1973 states that ‘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’. Where to lodge an FIR: The general rule lays down that the information about an offence is ordinarily given in the police station under whose jurisdiction the offence has been committed, but the Apex Court in ‘State of Andhra Pradesh. v. Punati Ramube’ held that information about cognizable offence can be recorded in any area and subsequently it can be forwarded to the police station having jurisdiction over that area. Purpose of FIR: The immediate filing of the report with the police in respect of the commission of any cognizable offence enables the police to acquire early information regarding the situations in which the crime or offence was committed. The delay in filing of FIR leads to deprivation of evidence and there are chances that the report gets bereft of the advantage of spontaneity. Click Here Who can file an FIR? FIRs can be registered by a victim, relatives, witness, bystander or someone else with knowledge of the crime. The Supreme Court in Hallu vs. the State of M.P. has observed that ‘Section 154 does not require that the Report must be given by a person who has personal knowledge of the incident reported. The section speaks of information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence given to an officer in charge of a police station and it remains silent as to who can file the same.’ Significance of FIR: FIR is considered to be the first report of the crime committed thus, it is important from many points of views. FIR is made immediately after the occurrence of the offence, hence the memory of the informant is fresh and the chances of fabrication are less. Delay in providing FIR is therefore viewed from grave suspicion. Important aspects related to FIR: The Indian Criminal law states that the informant/victim is entitled to avail a copy of the FIR which is lodged by him/her. The copy of the FIR is to be provided free of cost. The concept of providing FIR copy to the informant/victim is mainly done with a view to providing him/her assistance in their respective case. Not only this, under criminal law an accused is equally entitled to acquire a copy of the FIR. Section 207 of the Cr.PC, 1973 deals with this provisions. Delay in Lodging of FIR: Delay in giving first information can be condoned or excused if there is a justifiable explanation. Whether the delay is so long as to throw a cloud of suspicion on the deeds of the prosecution case depends upon a variety of factors. Where delay is caused due to its being lodged in the wrong police station, it was held to be reasonably explained. The Apex Court in Harpal Singh v. State of Himachal Pradesh held that ‘if in the rape case lodging of FIR was delayed for ten days, the delay will be deemed to have been reasonably explained where the honour of the family was involved and the family members had to decide whether to take the matter to the court or not’. It was held in Harbans Kaur v. State of Harayana, that even a long delay in lodging FIR can be condoned if witnesses have no motive of implicating accused and have given a plausible reason for delay. In Gajanan Dashrath Khartate v. State of Maharashtra, the Court observed that ‘delay in setting law into motion by lodging of the complaint and registration of first information report is normally viewed by courts with suspicion because there is possibility of concoction and embellishment of occurrence so it becomes necessary for the prosecution to satisfactorily explain the delay. The object of insisting upon prompt lodging of the report is to obtain early information not only regarding the assailants but also about the part played by the accused, the nature of the incident and the names of the witnesses. In the present case, the prosecution has satisfactorily explained the delay.’ Omission to Mention the Name of the Accused: In Mittar Sen v. State of UP, the name of the person who caused the injuries to the accused was not mentioned in the FIR. It was also not mentioned that how the accused received the injuries. Therefore, the Court did not accept the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. Further, it stated that where no satisfactory explanation is furnished for omission to mention the name of the accused in the FIR the veracity of the prosecution comes under suspicion. The Court was of the view that the inference arising from the fact that the names of the accused are not mentioned in FIR will differ from case to case. The fact that the names of some accused are not mentioned in the FIR is a circumstance, which the prosecution has to explain, though no rule of law stipulates that an accused whose name is not mentioned in the FIR is entitled to acquittal. Omission to Mention Details of the Incidents: It was held in Dharmendra Singh v. State of UP, that the FIR and the statements recorded under section 161 CRPC are not comprehensive to give each and every minute details which had come into the light during the deposition in the court. Sometimes witnesses do not think it proper to get it mentioned in the FIR or the statements recorded under section 161 Cr.PC but it does not mean that the facts do not exits. It was held in Moti Lal v. State of UP, that the FIR need not contain every minute detail about the occurrence. It is not a substantive piece of evidence. It is not necessary that the name of every individual present at the scene of the occurrence should be stated in the first information report. Guidelines for Supply of FIR Copy to The Accused: In Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India, the Apex court issued the following directions in matters related to FIR. It directed Union of India and all the states to upload each and every FIR registered in all police station within the territory of India on the official website of the police of all states as early as possible preferably within 24 hours from the registration. However, in scenarios where, there is a connectivity problem due to geographical location, or some unavoidable difficulty, the time can be extended up to 48 hours. The 48 hours, the period can be extended maximum up to 72 hours and it is an only relatable problem due to geographical location. The copies of the FIR, unless the offence is sensitive in nature like sexual offences, offences pertaining to insurgency, terrorism of that category, offences under POCSO Act and such other offences must be uploaded to the police website and if there is no such website, on the official website of the state government within the 24 hours of the registration of the FIR so that the accused or any other person connected therewith can download it and file appropriate application before the court, as per law for the redressal of his grievances. The decision not to upload a copy of the FIR on the website shall not be taken by the officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of police or any person holding the equivalent post. A decision was taken by a police officer or District Magistrate as the case may be duly communicated to the concerned judicial magistrate. In case a copy of FIR is not provided on the ground of sensitive nature of the case, a person aggrieved after disclosing his identity can submit a representation to the superintendent of police or any person holding the equivalent post in the state, even to the commissioner of the police in metropolitan cities. The officers are requested to constitute a committee of 3 officers, the committee so constituted will have to deal with the grievances within 3 days of the date of the receipt of the representation and communicate it to the aggrieved person. In the case, wherein the decisions have been taken not to give a copy of FIR because of the sensitive information of the case. It will be open to the accused or his authorized representatives to file an application for grant of the certified copy before the court to which the FIR has been sent and the same must be provided promptly by the concerned court, not beyond 3 days of submission of FIR. Zero FIR: The concept of Zero FIR was highlighted after the Nirbhaya Case, 2012. Zero FIR is FIR which can be filed at any police station irrespective of its jurisdiction. The police station where a Zero FIR is filed has to mark the report specifically under the head ‘Zero FIR’ and has to give it a serial number as zero. Subsequently, the police station has to transfer the documents to the police station who has the jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Zero FIR’s may be registered on the basis of a woman’s statement at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction. This means women can file an FIR at any police station and the complaint is required to be registered on the basis of the woman’s complaint verbatim. Failure on part of a police officer to file a Zero FIR may invite prosecution under Section 166A of IPC and also departmental action.