First Information Report

The formal record the police make of information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence. It is the document that sets the criminal investigation process in motion.

BNSS Section 173, which replaced Section 154 of the old Code from 1 July 2024. The offence itself is mapped under the BNS or a special law, and evidence is governed by the BSA.

No. It is for cognizable offences. Where the information discloses only a non-cognizable offence, the police make an entry under Section 174 and refer the informant to the Magistrate, because they cannot investigate a non-cognizable offence on their own.

As a rule, yes — registration is mandatory where the information discloses a cognizable offence, and the officer does not weigh whether the allegation is likely to be true at that stage. The BNSS now carves out a limited preliminary enquiry for a defined band of offences.

Under Section 173(3), where the offence is punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, the officer in charge may — with the prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police — conduct a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to see whether a prima facie case exists. It is an option for that band only, not a general licence to delay.

Section 173(1) allows information to be given by electronic communication. It is taken on record on being signed within three days, so an electronic complaint that is never signed does not become an FIR.

An FIR registered irrespective of the area in which the offence was committed, then transferred to the police station with jurisdiction. Section 173(1) now puts this on a statutory footing, so jurisdiction is not a valid reason to turn you away.

Yes. Section 173(2) requires a copy of the information as recorded to be given free of cost to the informant or the victim.

Do not rely on verbal follow-up. Send the substance of the information in writing by post to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4), keeping proof of dispatch. If that produces no effective action, the route is an application to the Magistrate, who can direct an investigation.

It varies. Send it registered, keep the tracking record, and set a realistic date by which you will escalate to the Magistrate rather than waiting indefinitely.

Yes. Most FIRs in theft, fraud and cyber matters begin against unknown accused. What matters is that the facts disclose an offence.

Yes, but delay needs explaining, and an unexplained gap is one of the first things a defence will raise. Where there is a reason — fear, ongoing negotiation, discovery of the loss much later — set it out in the complaint rather than leaving it to be inferred.

Yes, through an authorised signatory with board or management authorisation. Missing authority is a common technical objection.

The police may file a closure report, which the Magistrate can accept or reject. Separately, a High Court can quash an FIR in appropriate cases, typically where no offence is disclosed or the proceeding is an abuse of process.

Investigation: statements, evidence collection, notices, searches where permitted, and ultimately either a police report to the court or a closure report.

No. Arrest is a separate decision governed by its own safeguards, and for many offences the police are expected to issue a notice of appearance rather than arrest. An FIR is not a conviction and it is not an arrest warrant.

Get a copy and read exactly which provisions are invoked, because the sections determine arrest risk, bail route and everything else. Take advice before giving any statement, and consider anticipatory bail where the offence and facts warrant it.

Yes — through anticipatory bail, a quashing petition, and by putting the documentary record before the investigating officer. Where a commercial dispute has been dressed as a criminal case, that is a recognised basis for quashing.

Very. Most modern complaints rest on electronic material — messages, emails, transaction records, CCTV — and Sections 61 to 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam govern how it is proved. Preserve originals.

It depends on whether an offence is genuinely disclosed and on what you want. Where the dispute is contractual, an FIR is the wrong instrument and may rebound.

They can, where the facts genuinely support both. What does not work is using an FIR purely as leverage in a civil recovery.

An FIR triggers police investigation in a cognizable case. A complaint to the Magistrate is the route where the offence is non-cognizable or where the police have not acted, and the Magistrate takes cognizance directly.

Not legally. But a well-drafted complaint that sets out the facts, names the right provisions and attaches the evidence is registered and investigated far more readily than a narrative handed in at the counter.

A vague complaint. If the reader cannot identify what offence is being alleged, who did it and when, the complaint stalls at the threshold — and that is a drafting problem, not a police one.

We handle complaint drafting, offence mapping, evidence preservation, filing and escalation support, accused-side risk review and advocate coordination. Appearance is through enrolled advocates.