When is FIR Registration Mandatory?

As per the observations and guidelines of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in several cases

Topic #008

What is FIR?

In State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal¹, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that the legal mandate enshrined in Section 154(1) is that every information relating to the commission of a "cognizable offence" (as defined Under Section 2(c) of the Code) if given orally (in which case it is to be reduced into writing) or in writing to "an officer incharge of a police station" (within the meaning of Section 2(o) of the Code) and signed by the informant should be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe which form is commonly called as "First Information Report" and which act of entering the information in the said form is known as registration of a crime or a case.

Should the Information be Reasonable or Credible

In State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal (Supra), the Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that in Section 154(1) of the Code, the legislature in its collective wisdom has carefully and cautiously used the expression “information” without qualifying the same as in Section 41(1)(a) or (g) of the Code wherein the expressions, “reasonable complaint” and “credible information” are used. Evidently, the non-qualification of the word “information” in Section 154(1) unlike in Section 41(1)(a) and (g) of the Code may be for the reason that the police officer should not refuse to record information relating to the commission of a cognizable offense and to register a case thereon on the ground that he is not satisfied with the reasonableness or credibility of the information. In other words, ‘reasonableness’ or ‘credibility of the said information is not a condition precedent for registration of a case.

Significance and Compelling reasons for registration of FIR at the earliest

In Lalita Kumari vs Government of UP², the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that the object sought to be achieved by registering the earliest information as FIR is inter alia two fold:

1. One, that the criminal process is set into motion and is well documented from the very start; and

2. Second, that the earliest information received in relation to the commission of a cognizable offense is recorded so that there cannot be any embellishment etc., later.

FIR Register

In Madhu Bala vs. Suresh Kumar³, , the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that FIR must be registered in the FIR Register which shall be a book consisting of 200 pages. It is true that the substance of the information is also to be mentioned in the Daily diary (or the general diary). But, the basic requirement is to register the FIR in the FIR Book or Register.

Even in State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal (Supra), the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that FIR has to be entered in a book in a form which is commonly called the First Information Report.

FIR Registration Mandatory

In Lalita Kumari vs Government of UP (Supra), the Hon’ble Supreme Court has laid down the following directions for the registration of FIR

a. Discloses Cognizable offense

Registration of FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offense and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.

b. Does not disclose Cognizable Offense

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

c. Scope of the Inquiry

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 offense.

d.Types of Cases

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:

1. Matrimonial disputes/ family disputes

2. Commercial offenses

3. Medical negligence cases (See: Jacob Mathew vs. State of Punjab⁴)

4. Corruption cases (See: P. Sirajuddin vs State of Madras⁵)

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 delay.

The aforesaid are only illustrations and not exhaustive of all conditions which may warrant preliminary inquiry.

e. Duration of Preliminary Inquiry

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.

f. Recording of Preliminary Inquiry

Since the General Diary/Station Diary/Daily Diary is the record of all information received in a police station, all information relating to cognizable offenses, 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

g. Post Inquiry

1. If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered.

2. 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.

h. Not registering

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

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1. 1992 Supp 1 SCC 335

2. (2014) 2 SCC 1

3. (1997) 8 SCC 476

4. (2005) 6 SCC 1

5. (1970) 1 SCC 595