Code of Criminal Procedure

Introduction

• Registration of First Information Report (FIR) is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.

Facts

• This petition was filed before the Supreme Court by Lalita kumari who is minor through her father under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, 1950(COI) for the issuance of writ of Habeas Corpus for the protection of his minor daughter who has been kidnapped.
• The petitioner submitted a written report before the officer-in-charge of the police station, and he did not take any action on the same.
• After the involvement of Superintendent of Police an FIR was registered.
• Even after the registration of FIR, steps were not taken for apprehending the accused and not for the recovery of minor girl.

Issue Involved

• Whether a police officer is bound to register a FIR upon receiving any information relating to commission of a cognizable offence under Section 154 of CrPC or the police officer has the power to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” in order to test the veracity of such information before registering the same?

Observations

• The use of the word “shall” in Section 154(1) of CrPC clearly shows the legislative intent that it is mandatory to register an FIR if the information given to the police discloses the commission of a cognizable offence.
• If the information received does not disclose a cognizable offence but indicates the necessity for an inquiry, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted only to ascertain whether cognizable offence is disclosed or not.
• If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered.
• In cases where preliminary inquiry ends in closing the complaint, a copy of the entry of such closure must be supplied to the first informant.
• The police officer cannot avoid his duty of registering offence if cognizable offence is disclosed. Action must be taken against erring officers who do not register the FIR if information received by him discloses a cognizable offence.
• The scope of preliminary inquiry is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to ascertain whether the information reveals any cognizable offence.
• As to what type and in which cases a preliminary inquiry is to be conducted, it will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case.
• While ensuring and protecting the rights of the accused and the complainant, a preliminary inquiry should be made time bound and, in any case, it should not exceed 7 days.
• Since the General Diary/Station Diary/Daily Diary is the record of all information received in a police station, we direct that all information relating to cognizable offences, whether resulting in registration of FIR or leading to an inquiry, must be mandatorily and meticulously reflected in the said Diary and the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry must also be reflected.

Conclusion

Thus, the intention of the Parliament is unequivocally clear from the language employed under Section 154 of CrPC that a mere information relating to commission of a cognizable offence is sufficient to register an FIR.