Struggling to get an FIR lodged?

In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court recently said that ‘it is mandatory for the police to register an FIR on receiving information about a cognisable (serious) offence.’ The judgement has been hailed as a landmark move which will eliminate the ‘discretionary powers’ granted to local thanas and help victims of crime get an FIR registered immediately.

However, those who have approached a police station anywhere in India for redressal against a crime know that it’s not an easy task. Often, even in the case of a ‘cognisable offence’ – which constitutes serious crimes like rape, murder, dacoity etc – the police dismisses it in a Daily Diary Entry. Many a times, important information regarding the incident is left out, not to mention cases where a policeman himself demands money to file a complaint.

Of course, a common man does not know a ‘cognisable offence’ from a ‘non-cognisable one’ and the police is happy to keep its crime figures ‘under control.’ What could be a more practical solution to this problem?

Achal Paul of India Vision Foundation – an organisation which works on this issue specifically, says, “It is a problem rampant in India including Delhi and NCR. Sometime back, I went to a police station in Delhi to get an FIR lodged for a lost passport. The cops insisted on making a DD Entry and I had to drop names and threaten to call senior officers before they finally made an FIR. If educated people like us have to go to such extents, imagine the plight of the poor and illiterate who face crimes every day.”

“I suggest,” he says, “that charts be prepared listing out ‘cognisable’ and ‘non-cognisable offences’ and be put on display at every police station. These should be in English, Hindi and the language used locally. Also, contact numbers of senior police officers should be mentioned prominently which the public can utilise if faced with ‘inconvenience.’”

Avi Singh, criminal lawyer at the Delhi High Court, informs us of some measures which people can take if police turns a deaf ear to their problems. He says, “As per Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, registration of an FIR in case of a cognisable offence is compulsory. However, if the police is unwilling to do the same, section 156(3) of the CrPC has a provision for approaching the area magistrate. You can visit your local magistrate and acquaint him with your problem. He will then direct the police to lodge an FIR.”

Former Delhi Police Commissioner Ved Marwah says there are no quick-fix solutions to this problem and one will have to wait for police reforms to come into place, “You will be surprised to know that the pressure comes from higher-up, the political leadership to keep the crime statistics ‘low.’ They don’t want an astronomical number of rape cases at the end of a year which will provoke the media to designate a city as the ‘crime Capital.’”  “I feel it’s a systemic problem and will only go away with police reforms coming into place. Unless we recruit the right kind of people, train them to be sensitive to people’s problems and motivate them to lodge complaints, things will not change. Merely an SC order hoping for police to change its ‘mindset and work ethic’ is not sufficient.”