FIRST INFORMATION REPORT IN INDIA

AUTHOR – YASHIKA SINGH, STUDENT AT SOL J&G, GAUTAM BUDDHA UNIVERSITY, GREATER NOIDA

BEST CITATION – YASHIKA SINGH, FIRST INFORMATION REPORT IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (7) OF 2025, PG. 863-868, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

The First Information Report (FIR) plays a critical role in India’s criminal justice system, as it is the document that formally begins a police investigation into a cognizable offence. Anticipating its treatment under the 1973 Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 154 thereof, the FIR becomes a procedural vestige and a check on accountability and transparency in criminal proceedings. The present paper seeks to analyse the legal framework and procedural intricacies of FIR with the evidentiary value of FIR, types of FIRs and notable judicial pronouncements that have contributed to its application. It further explores the issues of delayed or false FIRs, police inaction, and documents’ digitization. The following paper describes ways to reform the first stage of the criminal justice process through a critical lens so that citizens have adequate access to justice and the police are held accountable for the registration of FIRs and arrests.

Keywords: First Information Report, Investigation, Cognizable Offence, Criminal Proceedings, Evidentiary Value.