In India how does the police first information report FIR works-. is a copy of FIR available to accused person?

Answer 1

F.I.R. is the abbreviated form of First Information Report. It is the information recorded by the police officer on duty, given either by the aggrieved person or any other person about the commission of an alleged offence. On the basis of the F.I.R. the police commences its investigation.

WHO CAN FILE AN F.I.R. Any person can file an F.I.R. He need not be the aggrieved person. It may be merely hearsay and need not be by the person who has had firsthand knowledge of the facts.

WHERE TO FILE AN F.I.R. An F.I.R. can be filed in the police station of the concerned area in whose jurisdiction the offence has occurred. It must be made to the officer-in-charge of the police station and if he is not available the Assistant Sub Inspector is competent to enter upon the investigation

HOW TO FILE AN F.I.R. When a wrong has been committed and the aggrieved person or any other person wants to file a F.I.R. it shall be filed in the following manner. # Go to the police station and meet the officer-in-charge. # Step by step in an orderly sequence narrate to the officer every information relating to the commission of the offence. # The officer shall reduce the information given in writing. # The information given shall be signed by the person giving it. # The information given shall be entered in a book to be kept by the officer.

COPY OF THE INFORMATION AS RECORDED SHALL BE GIVEN FREE OF COST TO THE INFORMANT.

WHERE AN OFFICER-IN-CHARGE REFUSES TO RECORD THE INFORMATION If the officer in charge refuses to record the information, the information may be sent in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer subordinate to him.

INVESTIGATION Once the F.I.R. has been registered the investigation in the case shall begin. Accused should get copy of FIR: experts

Our High Court Correspondent Chandigarh, October 1

Former Rajasthan High Court Judge Justice J.C. Verma today remarked that there was an anomaly in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in so far as the need to provide a copy of the first information report (FIR) or medico-legal report (MLR) to the accused. Speaking at a discussion on the right to have a copy of accusations, FIR and MLR, organised by the Punjab and UT Sections of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) here, Justice Verma said the accused should have a right to get a copy of the FIR/MLR whenever he wanted. "These are basic documents that disclose why a person has been arrested or is to be arrested. Yet, it is unfortunate that the law has not set up any procedure to make getting these vital documents a right of the accused," he said. Mr Jagmohan Chaudhary, Member, Law Commission, Punjab, also talked of the urgent need for an amendment in the Criminal Procedure Code. He said this simple step would go a long way in simplifying the procedure for the grant of bail etc. Advocate T.S. Sangha said though the FIR was a public document and could be inspected in the court, it was not given to the accused. However, the complainant was entitled to get the same, which was ironical. This violated Article 21 of the Constitution, he added. Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association president Anmol Rattan Sidhu, while supporting the other speakers, said if need be, a PIL should be filed in this matter. Advocate Navkiran Singh said the absence of a procedure of the supply of a copy of the FIR/MLR to the accused had given rise to corruption. "The only way to get a copy of these is to bribe the police or the staff of the magistrates," he observed.