Date:18/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/18/stories/2008091856271300.htm

National

Which comes first, FIR or preliminary probe at discretion?

Legal Correspondent

Issue referred to CJI for posting before larger Bench

Most States say registering FIR first and then making arrests will breed corruption
Some States cite witch-hunting by politicians in registering FIR on false allegations

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to a larger Bench an issue whether the police are duty-bound to register an FIR on receipt of information of the commission of a cognisable offence or there is discretion on their part to order a preliminary probe before registering it.

“One of the questions which has been posed in this writ petition is whether, upon receipt of information by an officer in-charge of the police station disclosing a cognisable offence, it is imperative for him/her to register a case under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, or a discretion lies with him/her to make some sort of preliminary enquiry before registering the same,” said a Bench consisting of Justices B.N. Agrawal and G.S. Singhvi.

Conflicting decisions

The Bench cited earlier judgments which gave conflicting decisions. Some judgments held that an officer in-charge of the police station was obliged under law to register a first information report on receipt of a complaint. Certain other judgments held that the police officer was not obliged to register an FIR “but a discretion lies with him/her in appropriate cases to hold some sort of preliminary enquiry in relation to the veracity or otherwise of the accusations made in the report.”

“In view of the conflicting decisions of this court, we feel that it is necessary to refer the matter to a larger Bench. Let this petition be placed before the Chief Justice of India for passing appropriate orders to list the case before a larger Bench. In view of the interim order passed by this court, we feel that it would be expedient to hear this petition at an early date.”

By its interim order, the Bench had directed all States to instruct the police to register an FIR on receipt of a complaint. In their response, most of the States took the stand that registering an FIR first, carrying out an investigation and then making arrests would breed corruption as in many cases the allegations were reckless. Some States cited witch-hunting by politicians in registering an FIR on the basis of false allegations.

The court is hearing a petition filed by a woman, whose daughter was kidnapped from Loni in Ghaziabad, that the Station House Officer, instead of registering a case, asked her to withdraw it.