How To Register an FIR?
So, are you the victim/witness of a crime (i.e. a cognizable offence)? Do you want to lodge an FIR but are not sure how to go about it...don't worry, it's pretty easy and straight-forward.
Step 1: The "Correct" Police Station?!?
Well, first things first...you need to know the police station where you want to register your FIR in. This is the police station under whose "territorial jurisdiction" the crime occurred.
[Note: There is something called a 'Zero FIR' too but we will get to that a little later]
Step 2: Write your complaint on 1/2 pages of paper!
If you think, the police are going to write your complaint for you (as they show in movies), you are sadly mistaken. It may be provided in the procedure but when was the last time you actually saw police behaving as mandated by procedure.
Thus, before going to the police station, it's a good idea/practice to write down your complaint yourself. And don't forget to keep it to 1 page...or maximum of 2 pages. Any more than that and the police officers will laugh at you believing you are a novice who knows nothing of the law and how it functions. Trust me, I know!
Step 3: What goes in the complaint?
Ideally, draft the complaint in Hindi/local language (the IPS officers may be English-oriented, the local level officers) prefer Hindi/local language. And in your own handwriting.
Leave page margin of 1 inch or slightly more on the left side of the page. This is where the FIR number, Sections, and details of investigating officer etc. will be put.
Sample Format (in Hindi)
सेवा में ,
थाना प्रभारी,
<<name of police station>>
<<district>>
And now your complaint...
Signature
And don't forget to include your complete detail, such as name, father's name, age and residential address in the complaint. [Sample, Mr. ABC, S/o Shri XYZ, aged about 666 years, R/o Satan Colony, District - Hell.]
Step 4: Visit the police station
The next step is the most important step in the process, the actual visit to the police station where you will register your FIR. Once at the police station, there are simply too many variables to encapsulate in this article, but you may expect them to do any of the following...
1) Tell you that they can't register the FIR - {Ask them why and accordingly we will find a fix}
2) Register your FIR but demand a bribe for doing so - {That's your judgement call and I leave it up to you}
3) Ask you to rewrite your complaint - {Carry some loose A4 sheets of paper. And a pen! Don't ask them to give you those things...unless your uncle happens to be the SHO or someone who knows the SHO...then they may even serve you a cup of tea while they hand over some loose papers and a pen. Who knows, the police may even give you tips on how to draft the FIR better so your case sounds more logical. But even then, it will still need to be in your handwriting}
4) Ask you to come the next day - {Well, this is still a piece of encouraging news. And it usually means they need to think it over/discuss with superiors. In case you are wondering why, it is either because the complaint is against someone really important in which case the local police officer wants to get the nod of his higher up. Or the case is against someone rich/well-off, in which case too they wanna ascertain if they should register the FIR and arrive at a figure that they can demand from the accused to not arrest him. Trust me, sometimes the police too love registering an FIR against rich people coz it gives them ample opportunities to make some quick buck}
5) Tell you that the offence is not a cognizable offence - {Here, you need to show that you have knowledge of the law and throw the definition of cognizable offence at them. Trust me, once the police officer sees that you know the law, they will do little to hoodwink you}
P.S. - If you yourself don't know what cognizable offences are and how are they different from non-cognizable ones. Don't worry...I will cover that too in the next article.
Step 5: Get a copy of the FIR
Let's hope for your sake that the police have indeed registered your FIR. Next, request them for a copy of the same. It's your right and their duty! {Psstt: In case, you feel that they are not going to give it to you, at least try and get a sneak peek at the FIR no. That ways, you can obtain a certified copy from the court if you really have to. And keep track of the case}
BUT WHAT TO DO IF THEY REFUSE TO REGISTER AN FIR?
Let's be honest. If everyone followed the law (including the police officers), there wouldn't be so many problems to begin with and you would not need to register an FIR and I wouldn't have had to pen this article. But alas! We don't live in utopia.
So, in case the police officers refuse to register your FIR, you can--
1) Send your complaint to the S.P. (by registered post). Alternatively, you can meet him/her too.
2) File a complaint case in lower court (before the Magistrate) - More on this later... Keep watching this space for more...
---
Dr. Mallika Nawal, PhD IIT Kharagpur,
Advocate, Patna High Court
mallika_nawal@yahoo.com
Step 1: The "Correct" Police Station?!?
Well, first things first...you need to know the police station where you want to register your FIR in. This is the police station under whose "territorial jurisdiction" the crime occurred.
[Note: There is something called a 'Zero FIR' too but we will get to that a little later]
Step 2: Write your complaint on 1/2 pages of paper!
If you think, the police are going to write your complaint for you (as they show in movies), you are sadly mistaken. It may be provided in the procedure but when was the last time you actually saw police behaving as mandated by procedure.
Thus, before going to the police station, it's a good idea/practice to write down your complaint yourself. And don't forget to keep it to 1 page...or maximum of 2 pages. Any more than that and the police officers will laugh at you believing you are a novice who knows nothing of the law and how it functions. Trust me, I know!
Step 3: What goes in the complaint?
Ideally, draft the complaint in Hindi/local language (the IPS officers may be English-oriented, the local level officers) prefer Hindi/local language. And in your own handwriting.
Leave page margin of 1 inch or slightly more on the left side of the page. This is where the FIR number, Sections, and details of investigating officer etc. will be put.
Sample Format (in Hindi)
सेवा में ,
थाना प्रभारी,
<<name of police station>>
<<district>>
And now your complaint...
Signature
And don't forget to include your complete detail, such as name, father's name, age and residential address in the complaint. [Sample, Mr. ABC, S/o Shri XYZ, aged about 666 years, R/o Satan Colony, District - Hell.]
Step 4: Visit the police station
The next step is the most important step in the process, the actual visit to the police station where you will register your FIR. Once at the police station, there are simply too many variables to encapsulate in this article, but you may expect them to do any of the following...
1) Tell you that they can't register the FIR - {Ask them why and accordingly we will find a fix}
2) Register your FIR but demand a bribe for doing so - {That's your judgement call and I leave it up to you}
3) Ask you to rewrite your complaint - {Carry some loose A4 sheets of paper. And a pen! Don't ask them to give you those things...unless your uncle happens to be the SHO or someone who knows the SHO...then they may even serve you a cup of tea while they hand over some loose papers and a pen. Who knows, the police may even give you tips on how to draft the FIR better so your case sounds more logical. But even then, it will still need to be in your handwriting}
4) Ask you to come the next day - {Well, this is still a piece of encouraging news. And it usually means they need to think it over/discuss with superiors. In case you are wondering why, it is either because the complaint is against someone really important in which case the local police officer wants to get the nod of his higher up. Or the case is against someone rich/well-off, in which case too they wanna ascertain if they should register the FIR and arrive at a figure that they can demand from the accused to not arrest him. Trust me, sometimes the police too love registering an FIR against rich people coz it gives them ample opportunities to make some quick buck}
5) Tell you that the offence is not a cognizable offence - {Here, you need to show that you have knowledge of the law and throw the definition of cognizable offence at them. Trust me, once the police officer sees that you know the law, they will do little to hoodwink you}
P.S. - If you yourself don't know what cognizable offences are and how are they different from non-cognizable ones. Don't worry...I will cover that too in the next article.
Step 5: Get a copy of the FIR
Let's hope for your sake that the police have indeed registered your FIR. Next, request them for a copy of the same. It's your right and their duty! {Psstt: In case, you feel that they are not going to give it to you, at least try and get a sneak peek at the FIR no. That ways, you can obtain a certified copy from the court if you really have to. And keep track of the case}
BUT WHAT TO DO IF THEY REFUSE TO REGISTER AN FIR?
Let's be honest. If everyone followed the law (including the police officers), there wouldn't be so many problems to begin with and you would not need to register an FIR and I wouldn't have had to pen this article. But alas! We don't live in utopia.
So, in case the police officers refuse to register your FIR, you can--
1) Send your complaint to the S.P. (by registered post). Alternatively, you can meet him/her too.
2) File a complaint case in lower court (before the Magistrate) - More on this later... Keep watching this space for more...
---
Dr. Mallika Nawal, PhD IIT Kharagpur,
Advocate, Patna High Court
mallika_nawal@yahoo.com
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