Manipur violence: What is a Zero FIR and why it is registered

Manipur violence: What is a Zero FIR and why it is registered

Subject :Polity

Section: Msc

Concept-

First information report (FIR):

• The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).
• Section 154 (“Information in cognizable cases”) says that “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”.

What is a cognizable offence?

• A cognizable offence/case is one in which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule of the CrPC, or under any other law for the time being in force, make an arrest without a warrant.
• In the First Schedule, “the word ‘cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer may arrest without warrant’; and the word ‘non-cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer shall not arrest without warrant’.”

What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?

• The CrPC defines a “complaint” as “any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.”
• However, an FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
• In case of non-cognizable offences, an FIR under Section 155 CrPC, commonly called “NCR”, is registered.
• No police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial.”

What is a Zero FIR?

Unlike an FIR, which is restricted by jurisdiction, a zero FIR can be filed in any police station, regardless of whether the offence was committed under the jurisdiction of that particular police station. Whereas FIRs have serial numbers assigned zero FIRs are assigned the number ‘0’. Hence the name.

After a police station registers a zero FIR, it has to transfer the complaint to a police station that has the jurisdiction to investigate the alleged offence. Once a zero FIR is transferred, the police station with the appropriate jurisdiction assigns it a serial number, thereby converting it into a regular FIR. The concept of a zero FIR is relatively new and was introduced on the recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee in the in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya gang rape case in 2012 to put a legal obligation on police to take quick action and prevent them from using the excuse of absence of jurisidiction.

What if the police refuse to register an FIR?

• If no FIR is registered, the aggrieved persons can file a complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC before a concerned court which, if satisfied that a cognizable offence is made out from the complaint, will direct the police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation.