B.Sc.

II Sem- Forensic Science

Course Code- FSC-CC- 211

Unit-III

FIR
Course Instructor – Dr. Deepak Gupta
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Registration of Crime & First Information Report

Introduction
Police organisation, in any society, is said to be the chief law enforcement
agency of the criminal justice administration.

Crimes and offences of general nature are, therefore, registered and

investigated by the police stations.

Police station is the primary and basic unit of crime registration in all civilized
societies. The common man whether victim, complainant or informer contacts
police stations in the event of commission of a crime.

It is expected that the police station will immediately take action on the report
received by it and would register the crime for initiating appropriate and adequate
action in the matter.

Any lapse on the part of police in this regard will land them in a situation of
criticism. Registration of crime and recording of an FIR is thus, one of the
fundamental duties of the police.
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FIR- First Information Report

What is an FIR?

Anyone can report the commission of a cognizable offence either orally

or in writing to the police. Even a telephonic message can be treated as
an FIR.
It is generally a complaint lodged with the police by the victim of a
cognizable offence or by someone on his/her behalf.
It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time
and that is why it is called the First Information Report.
First Information Report (FIR) is a written document prepared by the
police when they receive information about the commission of a
cognizable offence.
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FIR- First Information Report

You can file an FIR if:

* You are the person against whom the offence has been committed;
* You know yourself about an offence which has been committed;
* You have seen the offence being committed.

Anyone who knows about the commission of a cognizable offence can

file an FIR. It is not necessary that only the victim of the crime should file
an FIR.A police officer who comes to know about a cognizable offence
can file an FIR himself/herself.
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FIR- First Information Report

What should you mention in the FIR?

* Your name and address;

* Date, time and location of the incident you are reporting;
* The true facts of the incident as they occurred;
*Names and descriptions of the persons involved in the incident;

Refusal to register an F.I.R. is against the Law.

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FIR- First Information Report

What are the benefits of early recording of FIR?

* The early recording of FIR helps in the arrest of the real offenders and
also helps in the collection of evidence of the crime.
* The version given in the FIR recorded without undue delay is
considered more reliable by the Courts.
•Delay in reporting the matter to the police can raise suspicion that the
version may be colored or concocted or an exaggerated account of
the incident or innocent persons may have been roped in.
* The reason for delay should also be explained in the F.I.R.
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FIR- First Information Report

Who can lodge an F.I.R?

1) Complainant who is an aggrieved person or somebody on his behalf.

2) By any person who is aware of the offence, (a) As an eye witness and
(b) As a hearsay account

3) Provided the person in possession of the hearsay is required to

subscribe his signature to it and mention the source of his information so
that it does not amount to irresponsible rumor.

4) If the information is only by a medical certificate or doctor’s report

about arrival of the injured, then he should enter it in daily diary and go to
hospital for recording detailed statement of injured.
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Classification of Offences

Offences of various types, as per the provisions of CrPC, are classified as

cognizable and non-cognizable offences.

The offences in which police can arrest without warrant are classified as
cognizable offences and the other are known as non-cognizable offences.

On receipt of a report about commission of a cognizable offence, it should be

recorded in the prescribed format, and this process is called recording of First
Information Report (FIR).
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The First Information Report (FIR)

Information of the commission of a cognizable crime that shall first reach the
police, whether oral or written, shall be treated as the First Information.

 It may be given by a person up to date with the facts directly or on hearsay, but
in either case it constitutes the First Information required by law, upon which the
investigation under Section 157, Criminal Procedure Code, shall be taken up.

When hearsay information of a crime is given the Station House Officer shall not
wait to record as the first information the statement of the actual complainant or
an eye-witness.
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Rumor, Hearsay & FIR

A vague rumor should be distinguished from an oral report and should not be
reduced to writing or signed by the informant but merely entered in the Station
House Diary and should it, on subsequent information, prove well founded, such
subsequent information shall constitute the First Information.

If the rumor is in regard to the occurrence of a serious crime, the Station House
Officer must embark upon an immediate enquiry to verify its authenticity and, if
found true, obtain a complaint and register and investigate it.

Police Officers shall not defer drawing up the First Information Report until they
have tested the truth of the complaint.

They shall not await the result of medical examination before recording the First
Information when a complaint is made of grievous hurt or other cognizable crime.
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Telephonic & Telegraphic Information and FIR

It is of utmost importance to secure all particulars regarding the occurrence in the
first instance and to record them in detail.
Care should also be taken to see if the complaint is trying to exaggerate an actual
occurrence or trying to give the colour of a cognizable case to an incident of a non-
cognizable nature.
 Complaints made by telegram or telephone should not be recorded in the First
Information Report until the information has been verified and either a statement has
been recorded from the sender in writing or a confirmatory written and signed
complaint has been received from him.
This does not mean that the Officer-in-charge of a Police Station need take no action
on a telegraphic or telephonic complaint received by him.
On receipt of a report by telegram or telephone regarding the commission of serious
cognizable crime, he should make a note of it in the Station House Diary and hasten
to the spot to verify the information and, if it is found to be true, he should obtain a
complaint in writing or record the statement of the informer and send it to the Police
Station for registration and immediately embark upon its investigation.
On his return to the Station House, he should also record the result of his enquiries
in the Station House Diary.
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Procedure of Recording FIR & Subsequent Action 1

The registration of a cognizable offence shall be made by the Police
Inspector/Sub-Inspector, if he is present at the Police Station when a report is
made.

Once the report has been entered in the First Information Report, the
investigation of the offence will be commenced at the scene of occurrence with
the least possible delay, and the PI/Sub-Inspector will himself proceed to the spot.

 If there are reasons that render this impossible or unnecessary, he will depute a
PSI/ASI/Head Constable to take up the investigation, and he will note in the First
Information Report why he did not himself take up the investigation.

In the absence of the PI/Sub-Inspector, the senior most officer present will
record the first information and take up the investigation till relieved by the PI/Sub-
Inspector or any other officer.
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Procedure of Recording FIR & Subsequent Action 2

The First Information Report shall always be written before the investigating
officer proceeds to make an investigation. But, if a report of a serious crime is
received by the Officer-in-charge of a Police Station, he must leave for the scene
of offence directing the officer whom he places in-charge of the station or the
station writer, as the case may be to register the case.

For example, if a Station House Officer is informed that a serious breach of the
peace is occurring in his jurisdiction or that a drunkard is running amuck with a
weapon after inflicting serious injuries on persons, it is the duty of the Station
House Officer to proceed to the scene at once and prevent the commission of
further offences. He should not delay proceeding to the scene for the sake of
issuing a First Information Report, which could be left to one of his subordinates.
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First Information Report Book

Information coming under any of the following headings received at a Police

Station shall be registered in the First Information Report Book, which is the book
prescribed under Section 154, Criminal Procedure Code.
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 1

i. Write the First Information Report immediately with all available details, and
enter the fact at the same time in the Station House Diary, mentioning therein
the name of the complainant or informant (with father’s name, age,
occupation and residence), the time of reporting at the Police Station and
brief particulars of the report, including the crime number and section of law
and action taken.

ii. Record all available facts of the case in clear-cut terms and make sure that no
important point is omitted. Use copying pencil for writing the First Information
Report and make copies by carbon process.

iii. Do not make corrections, erasures, scorings or over-writings. If a correction is

necessary, strike out the word or words, leaving them still legible, and initial.

iv. When the first informant presents his written report at the Police Station, read
it and explain it to him. If he admits its correctness make on it an
endorsement to that effect. Note on it the date and time of its receipt .
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 2

v. If the written report reveals the commission of or reasonable grounds to suspect the
commission of, a cognizable offence, it is not necessary to record any further
statement. Proceed to register the case in the prescribed form, making relevant
entries in the Station House Diary. If the written report is lacking in details of the
articles stolen or their description including their identification marks, the names of
persons who can identify them, etc., bring out them and record them at the foot of
the report. The record made should be read and explained to the maker and
attested by him. If the written reports does not contain the names and addresses
of the accused, or some of the accused mentioned in the report have the same
name, or the accused or some of them are not named but can be identified, their
complete addresses to distinguish one from the other, and the descriptive marks
of such of the accused as are to be identified, should be elicited and recorded. If
the written report does not contain a list of the articles stolen and the first
informant states that a list is under preparation and would be furnished, make a
record to that effect at the foot of the report and obtain his attestation to it. If the
written report is wanting in any other information but for which, the report cannot
be said to contain all the information falling within the purview of Section 154 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, question the first informant and if he is able to
furnish it, record it at the foot of the report and obtain his attestation.
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 3

vi. If the first informant does not appear with his written report but makes an oral
statement, reduce his oral statement to writing in the space provided in the
First Information Report form. If one form is found insufficient, use another
form. Record the First Information in the actual words of the informant, as the
record should not be your impression of what he meant to say. Employ plain
and simple language, as nearly as possible, in the informant’s words. Avoid
technical or legal expressions of high-flown language.
vii. When, after the First Information Report, a list or a further list of stolen
property is furnished or obtained by police, ensure that it is signed by the
persons concerned and record on it the date, time and place of its receipt. Do
not keep the list referred to above in the case diary file. Retain its copy and
send the original to the court for being attached to the relevant First
Information Report.
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 4

viii. Whenever it is found that having regard to the time and date of occurrence,
the distance from the place of occurrence to the Police Station and other
relevant circumstances, the first informant has delayed lodging the First
Information, elicit from him a full and detailed account of the circumstances
which contributed to such delay, while reducing to writing, his oral statement.
ix. If a first informant appears before an officer superior in rank to an Officer-
incharge of a Police Station, the former should reduce to writing his
statement or he should see that the informant is produced before the Officer-
in-charge of the Police Station, who should then record his statement.
x. When an accused appears at a Police Station and lodges a First Information
Report, it should be read and explained to him and if he admits its
correctness, an endorsement to that effect should be recorded. If he appears
without a written report, his oral statement should be reduced to writing. In
either case, if a cognizable offence is disclosed or there are reasonable
grounds to suspect the commission of a cognizable offence, a case should
be registered.
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 5

xi. When a cognizable offence is committed in the presence of an Officer-in-

charge of a Police Station, he is not bound to take down in writing any
information relating to the commission of the offence. Since he has the
information himself, he can register the case suo-moto. In cases registered
suo-moto, satisfy yourself that the First Information Report contains a full and
correct record of all the facts and circumstances relating to the offence and the
offenders, including the names of witnesses, if any.
xii. When the First Information relates to theft, do not fail to ask the complainant
to furnish a list of articles stolen, their value and any particulars as to weight,
make, design or other distinguish marks which may assist identification, if they
have not already been furnished. While eliciting the prices of articles stolen,
take care that their prices are fixed having regard to the market rates
prevailing at the material time and not with reference to the prices at which
they were originally purchased.
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Salient Points of Registration of an FIR 6

xiii. If the informant knows or has seen the person by whom an offence reported
was committed but his name and address are not known to him, do not fail to
elicit from him, a description of the latter’s appearance, which should be
recorded along with the rest of the information. If the complainant is unable to
give a list of property stolen at the outset (may be because he is not the victim
of the theft or the person in the know of things or articles is away at the time)
or its weight, make, design or distinguishing marks, do not fail to obtain it from
the person concerned. There should be no delay whatsoever.
xiv. There should be no time-lag between the receipt of informant of the
commission of a cognizable offence and the recording of it. Whenever a report
clearly discloses a cognizable offence, do not embark upon a preliminary
enquiry which is illegal; but register the case at once. The First Information
Report is the first information of an occurrence or transaction in point of time
which reaches the authority competent to investigate or order an investigation.
Obviously there cannot be more than one First Information Report in one
case, however many the victims of the offence may be. If three persons are
murdered in the course of an occurrence, preparation of three First
Information Reports, one for the murder of each person, is irregular.