Mandatory Registration of FIR

An FIR must ordinarily be registered immediately when information given to the officer in charge of a police station, read as a whole, discloses the commission of a cognizable offence. At this stage, the police generally assess whether the alleged facts constitute such an offence, not whether the allegation will ultimately be proved.

Statutory rule

Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, information about a cognizable offence may be given orally or electronically, irrespective of where the offence occurred. This enables registration commonly called a Zero FIR, followed by transfer to the competent police station.

• Electronically communicated information must be signed by the informant within three days.
• A copy of the recorded information must be provided forthwith and free of cost to the informant or victim.

Limited scope for preliminary inquiry

For a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment of three years or more but less than seven years, the officer may, with prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, conduct a preliminary inquiry within 14 days to determine whether a prima facie case exists, or proceed directly with investigation.

• Outside this statutory window, police cannot postpone registration merely to test the credibility or truthfulness of information that clearly discloses a cognizable offence.
• The Constitution Bench in Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh established mandatory registration as the governing rule where a cognizable offence is disclosed.

Remedy for refusal

Under Section 173(4), an aggrieved person may send the substance of the information in writing to the Superintendent of Police. If satisfied that a cognizable offence is disclosed, the Superintendent must investigate personally or direct a subordinate officer to investigate; the person may thereafter approach the Magistrate.