Information in Cognizable Cases - CRPC 154
Date : 08 Apr, 2022
Post By Vishal Kumar
Section 154 (1) 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. (2) A copy of the information as recorded under sub- section (1) shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant. (3) Any person aggrieved by a refusal on the part of an officer in charge of a police station to record the information referred to in subsection (1) may send the substance of such information, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer subordinate to him, in the manner provided by this Code, and such officer shall have all the powers of an officer in charge of the police station in relation to that offence. INTRODUCTION The first information report (FIR) is a document that is written and recorded by the inspector in the police station. It is a document that can be filed in cognizable offences only. Cognizable offences are those which are more severe and have more rigorous punishments in law. FIR is not defined in the code of criminal procedure but has been allocated section 154 under which it is written. It is the fundamental document for a criminal investigation to kickstart. Without an FIR, the criminal machinery will not be set in motion. ESSENTIALS OF AN FIR An FIR must relate to the offence and must give detailed information about the offence. Information may include the people involved, place of the offence, time of the offence, the weapon used, etc. An FIR cannot be oral and has to be reduced in writing. The Fir must be entered into the general diary. After writing the FIR, it must be read to the informant. UNDERSTANDING SECTION 154 • The powers given to the police under chapter 12 of the CrPC which includes section 154, are statutory. This means that the police do not require permission from the court before exercising their power under this chapter. The court cannot interfere with the investigation of the police. • The object behind the registration of the FIR is that the victim should get relief. From the point of view of the police, the object of an FIR is to start the investigation and catch the accused. • Formalities mentioned under this section such as the signing of the FIR, reading it to the informant, etc., are not mandatory. They should ideally be done but just in case these things do not happen, the trial will not get vitiated. • In 2013, an amendment was done which is very important, it made the registration of FIR mandatory in rape cases. If the police refuse to register an FIR, it will be a grave infringement of law. in women rape cases, a female constable will write the report. If the woman who has been raped, or who has been attacked, is not able to come to the police station, the female constable goes to her home to record the FIR and video graph it. • If the police refuse to write an FIR, then the victim has the right to directly get the complaint registered with the Superintendent of Police. • An FIR under this section should be registered as soon as possible. If the incident is not reported to the police and if there is any unreasonable delay, the court might not believe the veracity of the FIR. If FIR is registered as soon as possible, then the police can reach the place of crime and take statements from people. The information which is then produced is truly firsthand. • In rape cases, people don’t generally go to the police station to file an FIR without measuring all the pros and cons. Sadly, we live in a society where rape is generally considered to be the woman’s fault. In such cases, the victims of rape get second thoughts while reporting rape to the police. In such cases, the FIR might get registered with a little delay. However, courts in many judgements have said that such delay in rape cases is justifiable. • Filing false FIRs is punishable under law. the punishment for it is given under section 182 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
RELEVANT CASE LAWS 1. Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P- In this case, the court held that filing of FIR is necessary if the information of a cognizable offence has been given. No preliminary investigation before the filing of FIR is to be done. 2. Bathula Nagamalleswara Rao & Ors. v. State Rep. By Public Prosecutor- The delay in filing the FIR is justifiable only if there exist reasonable grounds on which it was delayed. At the same time, the FIR is not to be delayed unless the reason for the delay is urgent and genuine. The FIR loses its evidentiary value when it is delayed. The information should be raw when giving it to the police. Otherwise, it becomes an exaggerated piece of document. 3. Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India and Other- some guidelines were laid down by the court in this case pertaining to the FIR. • Accused should be furnished with a copy of an FIR before the charge sheet is filed by the police. • Certified copy of the FIR should be given to the accused at his request. • The FIR should be uploaded on the website of the police or the state website. QUASHING OF FIR An FIR can be quashed on different grounds such as if the FIR was vexatious or filed with the intent to counter another FIR. It is also to be noted that the court can quash an FIR if there is an unreasonable delay in filing and submission of the charge sheet. CONCLUSION It can be safely assumed that the filing of FIR is extremely essential for the working of the criminal justice system. However, the procedure has to be kept in mind. The victim should first try to get the FIR registered but just in case the police refuse to file FIR, then the victim can go to the Superintendent of police. The FIR filing can be sometimes tedious with giving out every piece of information and then doing the same during the investigation. This takes a toll on the mental stability of the victim and his/her family. Therefore, the procedure should be swift at all times. WHY LAWTENDO Lawtendo is a platform for you to help in hiring legal counsel. We work twenty-four hours to provide the best lawyers who suit the needs of the customers. We work with a wide range of lawyers whose areas of expertise range from divorce, court marriage, and registration, property possession delay, cheque, and money recovery; to will drafting and agreement, employment issues, and builder disputes. In addition to this, we also deal with cases of wrongful dishonour of cheques. Lawtendo is a hassle-free platform that works rigorously to make sure the best lawyer reaches their client in time. Written by- Tarushi Goel, a fifth year law student of O.P Jindal Global University. She is currently pursuing BA LLB and is inclined towards legal research.
