The key highlights of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P., (2014) 2 SCC 1 regarding the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) are:
Mandatory Registration of FIR
- General Rule: Registration of an FIR under Section 154 is mandatory if the information received discloses the commission of a cognizable offence.
- No Preliminary Inquiry: In such a situation (where a cognizable offence is disclosed), no preliminary inquiry is permissible before registering the FIR. This rule must be strictly complied with.
- Police Duty: A police officer cannot avoid their duty of registering an FIR if a cognizable offence is disclosed. The word “shall” in Section 154(1) makes the registration mandatory.
Preliminary Inquiry: Exceptions and Scope - Permissibility: A preliminary inquiry is only permissible in limited cases where the information received does not clearly disclose a cognizable offence, and its sole purpose is to ascertain whether a cognizable offence is disclosed or not.
- Limited Scope: The scope of this preliminary inquiry is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information. Verification of the information’s truthfulness should occur after the FIR is registered.
- Illustrative Cases: Cases that may warrant a preliminary inquiry include:
- Matrimonial/family disputes
- Commercial offences
- Medical negligence cases
- Corruption cases
- Cases with abnormal delay/laches in initiating criminal prosecution
- (This list is illustrative, not exhaustive.)
- Time-Bound: A preliminary inquiry must be time-bound and should not exceed 7 days.
- Documentation: All information relating to cognizable offences, whether leading to an FIR or an inquiry, must be mandatorily and meticulously reflected in the General Diary. The decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry, and any related delay, must also be recorded.
- Closure: If the preliminary inquiry concludes the complaint, a copy of the closure entry with the reasons must be supplied to the first informant forthwith.
Objective and Safeguards - Twofold Objective of Compulsory Registration:
- Sets the criminal process in motion and ensures documentation from the start, preventing later embellishments.
- Ensures transparency in the criminal justice system, providing means for police accountability and judicial oversight.
- Safeguards Against Misuse: The Court held that apprehension of misuse (such as indiscriminate arrest) by mandatory registration is misplaced, as sufficient safeguards exist under the CrPC (e.g., in Section 41 regarding arrest, or the power of police to close a matter after investigation).
- Action Against Erring Officers: Action should be taken against police officers who fail to register an FIR upon receipt of information disclosing a cognizable offence.
- General Diary vs. FIR Book: The FIR must be registered first in the FIR book, and the provisions of Section 154 CrPC prevail over state Police Act or Rules that may suggest recording in the General Diary first.
