Concept of FIR

An FIR is the short form for ‘first information report’ which refers to the first
detailed description of a cognizable offence given by an informant to the police
officer which is reduced into writing by the officer, and signed by the informant.
Section 154 uses the term ‘shall’ which means the police officer has no discretion
to hold preliminary inquiry before recording an FIR. The use of expression
‘information’ means that the police officer has to record information even if he is
not convinced about its reasonability and credibility. (Lalita Kumari v.
Government of Uttar Pradesh, 2014 SC)
Zero FIR
An FIR lodged in a police station not having jurisdiction to investigate the case
will be called as zero number FIR. Such an FIR will not be numbered in that police
station rather after taking the initial steps, the FIR will be transferred to the police
station having jurisdiction where it will be numbered.
CROSS FIR
In cases of cross FIR, two FIR’s are generally registered by both the parties
independently. In such a case, the Court does not quash any FIR rather it clubs
together both the FIRs, upon which the same investigating officer investigates the
case. (T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala, 2001 SC).
Can an FIR be lodged through telephone?
The information given in the form of an FIR should be sufficient enough to set the
criminal law into motion. The information has to be detailed wherein the name of
the informant is revealed and he is willing to sign the FIR. Now, if the information
as to the commission of an offence is given by telephone and the information is
non-cryptic, such an information will amount to an FIR. But if the information is
cryptic/incomplete or vague, and only requires the police officer to proceed to the
place of incidence, such an information will not be regarded as an FIR. Rather any
subsequent detailed information upon which all the basic formalities of FIR have
been complied with, will be deemed as an FIR. (Andhra Pradesh v. V.V. Pandu
ranga rao, 2009 SC)
Procedure of recording of FIR – Section 154
Any person can give information to the police relating to the commission of a
cognizable offence and Section 154 provides for the manner in which such
information is to be recorded.
(a) If an information is given orally, it shall be reduced to writing by the police
officer.
(b) It shall be read over to the informant and shall be signed by the informant.
(c) The police officer is required to enter the substance of information in a book
kept by him. The book is called station diary i.e. FIR dairy.
First Information Report (FIR) is first Information about a cognizable offence, as
defined under this section. The principal object of FIR from the point of view of
the informant is to set the criminal law into motion and from the view of
investigating authorities is to obtain information about the alleged criminal
activity, so as to be able to take suitable steps to trace and book the guilty.
Proviso to Section 154- According to the proviso, if the information is related to
an offence involving acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism, assault, outraging
modesty of a woman, rape, or other offences under Indian Penal Code related to
women, such information shall be recorded by a woman police officer or any
woman officer. It is a mandatory provision.
If in case, such victim, against whom such offence under IPC is alleged to have
been committed or attempted, is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically
disabled, then the information given by such victim shall be recorded by a Police
officer, at the residence place of such person’s choice in the presence of an
interpreter or a special educator and the recording of such information shall be
videographed.
The police officer is duty bound to get the statement recorded by a Judicial
Magistrate under Section 164 as soon as possible.
According to sub-section(2), the informant shall be given a copy of the
information as recorded under sub-section (1) free of cost.
Refusal to lodge FIR:
Sub-section(3) provides the remedy on refusal to lodge FIR. The aggrieved person
on such refusal may:-
(i) go to the superior police officer, or
(ii) go to the Magistrate under section 156(3), or
(iii) go to the Magistrate under section 200, or
(iv) go to the High Court under section 482 of the Code.
The aggrieved person cannot go directly to the High Court. First, he has to
approach the superior police officer and such police officer shall either investigate
the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer
subordinate to him.
Effect of delay in recording of FIR
Criminal Courts attach great importance to the lodging of prompt FIR because the
same greatly diminishes the chances of false implication of accused as well as that
the informant being tutored. The fact that the FIR was lodged early, does not rule
out embellishment or falsehood in every case. Mere delay in lodging FIR is not
necessarily as a matter of law, fatal to the prosecution. The plausibility of the
explanation for delay is to be considered in such a case. The object of insisting
upon prompt lodging of FIR is to obtain prior information regarding the
circumstances in which crime was committed, the names of actual culprits and the
part played by them as well as the names of eye-witnesses before there is time for
them to be forgotten or embellished/tampered and the report can be put in evidence
when the informant is examined, if it is desired to do so.
Ordinarily, whenever an offence is committed, the law requires that the
information is immediately reduced into writing. Small and explainable delay is
not considered as fatal to the case of prosecution but the Court may get suspicious
about the role of the informant if there is unexplained delay in lodging of an FIR.
The Court may seek an explanation about the same from the informant and if there
is a sufficient explanation, then it will not be suspicious as such but if it is
otherwise, the Court may take notice and give less weightage to the statement in
terms of evidence. (Ramdas v. State of Maharashtra, 2007 SC)
Three types of delay in lodging FIR:
1. In lodging by the informant
2. In recording at police station by the officer-in-charge
3. In dispatching it to the Magistrate
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1. Delay in Lodging FIR by the Informant
A FIR should be filed as soon as possible after the offence is committed, even
though there is no time restriction specified in any law or regulation for doing so.
The judge’s determination of what constitutes an acceptable time will vary on the
facts of each case and the reasonable time will vary accordingly.
Case examples:
1. In the matter of “State of Rajasthan v. Om Prakash,”5 there was an almost
26-hour delay in filing the FIR. The crime was committed at 9 a.m., and the
FIR was filed at 11:30 a.m. the next day. The respondent’s attorney claimed
that the delay resulted in adding details to the story, however this did not
harm the prosecution case because it entailed rape of a minor, and the name
and prestige of the family, as well as the career and life of a young child.
2. In “Raghbir Singh v. The State of Haryana,” the Court concluded that
delaying the filing of the F.I.R. was justified by the need to rush to the
hospital in order to preserve the victim's life rather than going to the police
station first.
3. In the case of “Vidhyadharan v. State of Kerala,”8 the victim was a married
woman with children who was working in the kitchen cooking at 2 p.m.
when the accused entered the house and grabbed her hands, attempting to
outrage her modesty. The victim filed a FIR the next day. In this case, the
court found that delaying the filing of a FIR is normal in a traditional society
to avoid shame, which is unavoidable when a woman’s reputation is at stake.
In circumstances involving outraging women’s modesty, sexual harassment, or
rape, the reputation of women and their families becomes an evident reason for the
delay, which is explainable, and so such delays can be allowed. As a result, if the
informant takes a long time to file a FIR and the reason for the delay is clear, there
will be no suspicion of the delay, and the case will proceed as if it was filed
immediately. However, if the delay is unexplainable, suspicions of embellishment,
fabrication, or exaggeration of facts will arise.
2. Delay in filing FIR by the officer-incharge of a police station
As per the details provided by the informant if it discloses the commission of a
crime that relates to cognizable offence, a police officer is required to file a FIR.
According to section 154(1), the word ‘shall’ used in the phrase signifies that if the
facts of the offence as specified relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
the officer-in-charge of the station must mandatorily lodge the FIR. According to
section 154(3), if a police officer refuses to file a FIR, the informant may send the
superintendent of the police the substance of the information in writing and by
mail. If the superintendent is convinced that a cognizable crime has been
committed, he will either conduct his own investigation or assign it to a
subordinate. If no FIR is filed even after the complaint to the senior officer, the
informant has the legal right to file a complaint with the Judicial or Metropolitan
magistrate under Section 156(3) read with Section 190 of the Cr.P.C. This is done
in order to request that a FIR be registered by the police and that an investigation
into the matter begin. A police officer will receive a one-year prison sentence if
they refuse to file a FIR based on jurisdiction.
Section 166A(c) of Indian Penal Code 1860 says that whoever, being a public
servant fails to record any information provided to him under sub-section (1) of
section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, in relation to cognizable
offence punishable as crimes against women under IPC, shall be punished with
rigorous imprisonment and fine.
Lalita Kumari v. State of U.P. and Ors
The petitioner, a little girl, was kidnapped in “Lalita Kumari v. State of UP and
Ors”. On behalf of Lalitha Kumari her father petitioned for writ of Habeas Corpus
via Article 32 to defend his kidnapped daughter. The girl’s father went to the
police station to report the incident and register a FIR, but the officer-in-charge
refused to lodge the FIR. As a result, the father addressed the superintendent, who
filed a FIR but did not initiate an inquiry. The defence attorney for the defendant
claimed that the officer in charge of the police station is not required by law to file
a case upon learning of the conduct of a cognizable offence, but rather to conduct a
preliminary investigation in appropriate circumstances to determine the veracity of
the claims made in the report. According to the Supreme Court, there is no need for
a preliminary inquiry if any information indicates that a cognizable offence has
been committed; instead, the police officer must submit a FIR in accordance with
Section 154 of the Cr.P.C. The officer in charge is obliged to file a FIR if a
cognizable offence is revealed. The Hon’ble Judges also stated that the purpose of
a preliminary inquiry is to determine whether a cognizable offence has been
disclosed, not to confirm the truthfulness or otherwise of the information received.
The investigating officer cannot purposefully omit to record the FIR despite
receiving information regarding to conduct of a cognizable offence. If an officer
reports the FIR after arriving at the scene and after due deliberations,
conversations, and consultations, it is risky to rely on such a tainted inquiry since
one would not know where the police officer had forged the evidence and created
false ones. In many circumstances, when officer in charge refuses to file a FIR, the
case is never brought to court, and the criminal gets away with it. The officer’s
refusal to file a FIR is a breach of duty.
3. Delay in dispatching the FIR to the Magistrate
The steps involved in the inquiry to be conducted after an FIR are mentioned under
Section 157 of CrPC. When a police officer is informed about an offence
cognizable in nature or has reason to think that an offence has been committed in
violation of Section 156, the officer must report the occurrence to the magistrate
who has the power to look into the offence without delay. A subordinate officer
who is not below the rank that the State Government may designate, may also be
deputised by the officer.
The Supreme Court has decided that the major objective of filing an immediate
FIR and reporting it to the magistrate ‘forthwith’ is to avoid any embellishments
and to keep the Magistrate informed about the inquiry. The delay cannot be used as
a technical justification to claim that the investigation is tainted and the
prosecution is unreliable when there is no infirmity brought to the Court’s attention
and no harm to the accused. This protection is in place to prevent excessive
embellishment, fraudulent prosecution, and police noninvestigation at a critical
stage. A copy of FIR is sent to the Magistrate as a part of Internal and External
Checks that the Cr.P.C provides. Delay in sending report gives a chance to the
prosecution to alter the FIR and hence a suspicion on such delay is raised therefore,
to avoid such mistakes it is said that the report of the FIR shall ‘forthwith’ be
forwarded to the Magistrate if not it would lead to deterioration of the
prosecution’s case.
In a case, the Supreme Court stated that the phrase ‘forthwith’ adopted u/s 157(1)
requires in clear terms that the FIR should be sent by the concerned police officer
promptly, that is, ‘immediately or without delay.’
In another case, the Supreme Court held that the term ‘forthwith’ would definitely
mean ‘within a reasonable time’ and ‘without unreasonable delay.’ The High Court
of Madras acquitted an accused on the basis that there was a ‘unexplained’ and
‘inordinate’ delay in forwarding the FIR to the Magistrate.
IMPACT OF DELAY IN LODGING FIR ON TRIAL
1. The fact that the FIR was not filed early raises suspicion on the
complainant’s story. The prosecution’s case may be fatal in some cases, but
the impact of the delay on the trial will differ based on the facts and
circumstances of each case.
2. In offences such as rape and sexual harassment, such a delay may not be
considered lethal because there are evident causes for such a delay, such as
societal reaction and the women’s and family’s prestige.
3. Offences that consist of theft, attempt to murder and other cases the fact of
commission needs exact corroboration and need an immediate and speedy
FIR to be registered. Any delay that is inexplicable and unreasonable will
have an impact on the prosecution’s case, as there may be opportunities to
manipulate the facts and the people involved in such an offence.
4. The Supreme Court has stated that where there is such delay either by the
informant or the police then the court would always view the allegations
with suspicion and a satisfactory explanation if the court is not satisfied it
would be fatal for the prosecution’s case. Therefore, a possible explanation
is a must.
5. In another landmark case, the Court held that such delay creates opportunity
for exaggerated and concocted story. However, it should be noted that the
law has not fixed any time as to within which the FIR has to be logged
hence, delay in lodging FIR is not illegal, it’s just that if filed immediately it
would lead to commencement of the case as soon as possible and the
investigation could be done when the facts of the case are still fresh and this
would lead to getting more appropriate evidence which would benefit the
prosecution and the other party would not get any chance to object the
allegations made just on the reason of delay in filing FIR. However, there is
no as such guarantee that the FIR is genuine if filed without any delay.
6. The Supreme Court has also ruled that there is no hard-and-fast rule that any
delay in filing a FIR would automatically render the prosecution case
doubtful. As a result, while there is no specific time limit for filing a FIR or
for submitting it to the magistrate, it should be done within a reasonable time
frame, and mere delay in filing the FIR or forwarding it to the magistrate is
not a basis to acquit the accused. However, such delays do not necessarily
 affect the trial proceedings; in other cases, it is simply the suspicion of
embellishment, concoction, or exaggeration of facts that is raised, and it is
on to the prosecution to provide a satisfactory explanation that must be
supported by evidence if necessary.
7. The gathering of evidence to prove that there was a reasonable delay would
require more time and many hearings, as well as perhaps include some
expenses. This would result in lengthy proceedings and delayed justice for
the victim; in the meantime, there is a possibility that the accused may flee,
or that the facts will change or become unavailable as a result of the delay,
and that the facts will not be proven at a later stage.
This is how the delay in lodging FIR by the informant or the police or forwarding
it to the magistrate would affect the trial proceedings. This is how the delay in the
informant or police filing a FIR or transmitting it to the magistrate can affect the
trial.
Evidentiary value of FIR/Importance of FIR
An FIR is not a substantive evidence but it has its own importance which can be
explained in the following points :-
(a) The FIR in a criminal trial is an extremely vital and valuable piece of evidence
for the purpose of corroborating the oral evidence adduced at the trial.
(b) FIR is not a substantive evidence so its cross-examination under Section 157
or 145 of Evidence Act is compulsory. When the prosecution has neither produced
in evidence the person who made the first report in the Police Station nor the
person who wrote it out at the Police Station, the FIR cannot be referred to in
evidence.
(c) A careful and accurate record of the first information has always been
considered as a matter of the highest importance by the Courts in India. The object
of the FIR being to show what was the manner in which the occurrence was related
when the case was first stated.
(d) It can be used to corroborate or impeach the testimony of the person lodging it
under Section 145, 157 and 158 of the Evidence Act, 1872. It can also be used
under Section 32(1), 8(J), and 8(K) of the Evidence Act.
(e) An FIR is a public document and the accused is entitled to have its certified
copy. The denial of a copy will be against the principle of natural justice and
violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.
(f) An FIR is merely a previous statement, which may be proved by the
prosecution for the purpose of corroborating the first informant and may be used
by the defence for the purpose of contradicting him. Statements in the first
information cannot be used for the purpose of discrediting any witness, other than
the first informant.
(g) It can be used by way of corroboration under Section 157 of the Code.
(h) An FIR lodged by a person relating to the cause of his death, who died
subsequently, is admissible as a substantive piece of evidence under the provisions
of Section 32(1) of Evidence Act as a dying declaration. It is pertinent to note that
an FIR turns into dying declaration only when the informant dies post his
statement.
(i) If an FIR is recorded in “Station House Register” or General Diary. The District
Magistrate is at liberty to call for it and inspect such diary.
(j) It contains information relating to only cognizable offence. The reports of non-
cognizable offences are recorded under Section 155 of Code.
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Expected Questions on the topic:
a) Discuss the concept of FIR. What is the procedure for recording FIR?
(5+10=15)
b) Delay in recording FIR (4 marks)
c) Define and discuss the concept of FIR and the evidentiary value of FIR. (15
marks)
d) Delay in recording FIR and its effects (5)
e) Evidentiary value of FIR (5)
f) Procedure for recording FIR (4 marks)
g) What is FIR? What is the procedure for recording an FIR? When a dying
declaration can be treated as an FIR? (10 marks)
h) Evidentiary value of FIR (4 marks)
 i) What is First Information Report? Explain the procedure for recording of
FIR. (15 marks)
j) Effect of delay in recording of FIR. (4 marks)
k) What is FIR? What is its evidentiary value? Can it be used for
corroboration? (15 marks)
Expected number of questions: 1 long (definitely) 1 short (maybe)
Topic probability: Procedure + evidentiary value (connected with effect of delay in
recording of FIR).