Deergh Uppal
It is the information provided to the police officer about the occurrence of the cognizable offence. It is referred to as ‘First Information,’ and a compilation of information is referred to as a ‘First Information Report.’ It is regarded as one of the most relevant documents because it deals with a cognizable offence and the court case. Following the filing of the FIR, the criminal case is investigated.
Objective of FIR
The primary goal of filing an F.I.R. is to start the criminal justice process. And, to allow the police officer to begin investigating the crime as quickly as possible and gather all available evidence.
The following are the various objectives of recording F.I.R.:
- The offence reported at the police department should be reported to the District Magistrate and the District Superintendent of Police, who are responsible for the district’s peace and order.
- To inform the judiciary and judicial officers before whom the matter would eventually be heard of the evidence and scenario that emerged after the crime’s immediate occurrence.
- To preserve and defend the accused against any changes or additions.
Essential Conditions of FIR
The basic requirements of F.I.R. were determined in Moni Mohan v. Emperor:
- It should have some kind of information
- It has to be written down. If provided in pen, the concerned police officer should reduce it to paper.
- The key act or offence, not the ones that follow it, should be cognizable in nature.
The F.I.R. may be in the form of a lawsuit or claim with the aim of initiating legal action.
Information considered in FIR
An FIR may only provide facts about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is not essential for the information to include any of the case’s details. It is therefore not necessary to include the name of the convicted. It is required to report details relating to the commission of a cognizable offence.
The following types of information are not known to be FIR:
- Information obtained after the inquiry began.
- Any information that it is provided by a known individual who discloses his identity and the communication includes all of the requisite evidence that constitute an offence, and it is reduced to writing by the S.H.O.
- Information gathered from a small group of people.
- Knowledge that is indefinite, hazy, and unauthorised.
Value of FIR
An FIR is not a piece of evidence in itself. That is, it is not admissible as proof of the facts mentioned therein. FIR, on the other hand, can be used for the following purposes:
- It may be used to back up an informant witness under section 157 of the Evidence Act. It cannot, however, be used to refute or dismiss any witnesses.
- Under section 145 of the Evidence Act, which may be used to refute an informant witness. Under section 155(3) of the Evidence Act, the defence will use the FIR to impeach the maker’s credibility.
- Under Section 21 of the Evidence Act, an accused’s non-confessional FIR may be taken against him as an admission.
- As substantive testimony, a FIR may be used as a dying declaration. If it has to do with the cause, occasion, circumstances, or evidence that led to the informant’s death. under the scope of the Evidence Act’s section 32(1)
Since the accused cannot be a trial witness and will very seldom present himself as a defence witness u/s 315 of the Code, the FIR lodged by the accused cannot be used for corroboration or inconsistency.
Types of FIR
In police stations, a new term known as Zero Fir has been implemented as a form of FIR. Another often asked question is, “What is Zero FIR?”
Nirbhaya’s case has resulted in several changes in our legal system’s history, as well as the addition of zero fir as a form of fir in police stations. This kind of FIR was depicted in the film ‘pink.’ At the very least, people are conscious of what zero FIR is A zero FIR is a form of FIR in which the inquiry can be completed quickly and efficiently, resulting in swift justice. This is the sort of police report that can be filed at any police station. It is independent of any jurisdictional region, but the primary investigation will be conducted at the jurisdictional police station.
The case is assigned a serial number of zero and then moved to the appropriate police station. It is advantageous in cases of extreme and egregious crime. As a result, the zero form of FIR found in police stations will alleviate the pressure of locating the correct police station and eliminate the denial of justice.
What is Cross FIR?
It’s likely that the other party (accused) will file a FIR against the plaintiff after the FIR is filed. This is referred to as a cross FIR or counter FIR.
The filing of the counter FIR may be motivated by personal animosity or a malicious motive to perplex the Court, or it may be used as a means to secure a potential settlement and incentivize the defendant to withdraw the initial FIR.
Generally, when registering a FIR, the police will determine whether there is a prima facie case on both sides, and if this does not seem to be the case, they will either not report both or register the one that appears to be genuine and in which there appears to be some prima facie proof that the crime occurred
If the police receive both FIRs, they may decide to conduct a joint investigation, which may result in a single charge sheet or separate charge sheets.
The initial FIR is not affected by the counter FIR.
Illustration
Let us suppose in a situation a dunk group of people A have some sort of trifle with another group B. Both the groups suffer some sort of injury and eventually the fight dies down, both the groups are hurt and in the subsequent hours group A files a case against group B for battery or attempted murder. Now in this situation Group B unknowingly or unknowingly files a counter FIR against group A then that FIR will be considered as an cross FIR