How to file an FIR, and what to do if police refuse

Someone has told you to "get an FIR registered". This guide explains what that means, what police are bound to do, and what to do when the officer at the counter says no.

What an FIR is

A First Information Report (FIR) is the first written record police make when they are told about a cognizable offence: a crime serious enough that police can arrest without a warrant and investigate without a court's permission. Theft, robbery, assault causing hurt, cheating, criminal intimidation (threats), kidnapping, rape and murder are all cognizable.

The FIR is not proof of guilt. It is the trigger that starts a police investigation, and its number is what you will quote to the bank, the insurer and the court.

For a non-cognizable offence (a minor matter, such as simple insult or a petty scuffle without injury), police do not register an FIR. They note your information in a register and give you a note to approach the Magistrate, who can direct them to investigate Sec 174 BNSS.

What the law says

Since 1 July 2024, FIRs are governed by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. The key section is Sec 173 BNSS (earlier Sec 154 CrPC).

• Any police station. Information about a cognizable offence can be given to the officer in charge of any police station, "irrespective of the area where the offence is committed" Sec 173(1) BNSS. This is the Zero FIR: the station registers it with number "0" and transfers it to the station that has jurisdiction. You do not have to travel to the right station first.
• Oral or electronic. You may report in person or by electronic communication (email, the state police app or portal). An oral report must be written down, read back to you and signed by you. An electronic report is taken on record once you sign it within three days.
• Free copy, at once. You, or the victim, must be given a copy of the FIR free of cost and without delay Sec 173(2) BNSS.
• Women and persons with disabilities. For specified offences against women, a woman police officer records the information. A person with a disability may have it recorded at a place of their choice, with an interpreter or special educator, and on video Sec 173(1) BNSS.
• Preliminary enquiry. For offences punishable with 3 to under 7 years, the officer in charge may, with permission from an officer of Deputy Superintendent rank or above, first hold a preliminary enquiry to see whether there is a prima facie case (enough on the face of it to proceed). It must finish within 14 days Sec 173(3) BNSS. This power is new, and its width is still being debated in courts.
• Progress updates. Police must inform you, as the informant or victim, of the progress of the investigation within 90 days, including electronically Sec 193 BNSS.

The principle from Lalita Kumari v Government of UP (2014) still holds: if the information discloses a cognizable offence, registration is mandatory. Police cannot first test whether your story is true.

Step by step: registering the FIR

1. Go to the nearest police station (any station will do) and ask for the duty officer or the Station House Officer (SHO). Carry an ID and your phone. Take a friend if you can.
2. Tell what happened, in order: date, time, place, what was done, by whom (name or description), who saw it, what was lost or damaged. Stick to facts. If you do not know something, say so rather than guess.
3. Hand over a written complaint if you have one. Two copies: keep one with the station's receiving stamp, date and diary number. This is your proof that you reported.
4. Read the FIR before signing. Check the date, time, place, the names, and the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) applied. If something is wrong, ask for it to be corrected before you sign.
5. Take your free copy and note the FIR number, the police station name and the investigating officer's name and phone number.

If the police refuse

Familiar excuses are "not our area", "a civil dispute", "come back with proof", "settle it yourselves". None is a lawful ground to refuse a cognizable complaint. Use the ladder below; each step creates a paper trail for the next.

1. Ask politely for the refusal in writing or at least for the daily diary (GD/roznamcha) entry number of your visit. Note the officer's name, rank, date and time.
2. Write to the Superintendent of Police (in cities, the Deputy Commissioner of Police) of the district, by registered post or speed post, enclosing your complaint Sec 173(4) BNSS. Keep the postal receipt and tracking page. If the SP is satisfied that a cognizable offence is disclosed, they investigate or direct a subordinate officer to.
3. Apply to the Judicial Magistrate under Sec 175(3) BNSS (earlier Sec 156(3) CrPC). Your application must be supported by an affidavit and should show that you first approached the station and the SP. The Magistrate may hear the police and then order registration and investigation. A legal aid lawyer (15100) can draft this for you.