In Indian Criminal Justice System offence is an illegal act or omission committed by a person. There is categorization of offences as cognizable and non-cognizable. Cognizable offences are those which are serious in nature and where police officer can arrest without a warrant whereas non cognizable offences are those which are less serious in nature and where police officer can arrest an accused with the warrant issued by the magistrate. FIR is First Information Report. It is an information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence. After law college admission in West Bengal, law students are taught the manner in which FIR shall be recorded.
The informant either gives the information orally or in writing. If it is given orally then it should be reduced into writing. After that it shall be read over to the informant. The substance of such information shall be recorded in the register as may be prescribed by the State Government in this behalf. The informant shall sign it and the copy thereof shall be given free of cost to the informant. FIR occupies a pivotal position as it sets the criminal law in motion. It should be given in a first instance so that the investigating officer can take immediate steps to trace the accused person. As taught in law study in West Bengal, it is not necessary that only the eye witnesses can lodge an FIR. A telephonic message can also be considered as a FIR if it discloses a cognizable offence. But, a cryptic message recording details of an occurrence cannot be considered as a FIR.
After the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act,2013 if any woman alleges that either sexual offences has been committed or attempted to be committed then it shall be recorded only by a woman police officer. If such woman is incapacitated physically or mentally, then it shall be recorded by the police officer at the residence of the informant or at any other place which is convenient for the informant woman. The police officer shall take the help of special educator or interpreter and the entire process shall be video graphed. This provision ensures that the aggrieved women should not be subjected to undue harassment by the police officials.
Many times, police officers refuse to lodge FIR. In that case the informant has statutory remedies as well as constitutional remedies. As far as statutory remedies are concerned, the informant can send the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police. If the Superintendent of Police is satisfied that a cognizable offence has been committed then he can either conduct the investigation himself or else he can direct any other subordinate officer to conduct the same. If no action is taken by the police authorities, then the informant can approach the Magistrate, who may order lodging of FIR and investigation of the matter. The informant can also approach High Court for issuance of the writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. A writ of mandamus is generally issued to a public official commanding him to do his duty. As a general rule, FIR shall be compulsorily registered if it discloses commission of a cognizable offence. Many times, people misuse the provisions of law. The Honorable Supreme Court of India in Lalita Kumari vs. State of UP (2014) 2 SCC 1 reserved certain category of cases where preliminary inquiry shall be conducted before the registration of FIR. They are related to the matrimonial disputes, commercial disputes, medical negligence cases, corruption cases and the cases where there is an abnormal delay in registration of FIR. The sole purpose of conducting preliminary inquiry is not to verify credibility of the information but to ascertain whether the information discloses any cognizable offence or not. In case of any delay in lodging FIR, it shall be duly explained by the informant.
