Zero FIRs

• Manipur is witnessing a rise recently in Zero FIRs.

ABOUT ZERO FIRS

• When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR, and then transfers it to concerned police station for further investigation.
  • This is called a Zero FIR.
  • No regular FIR number is given.
• After receiving Zero FIR, concerned police station registers a fresh FIR.
• It was introduced on the recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee formed at the backdrop of the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi in 2012.
• This puts a legal obligation on the police to begin an investigation and take quick action without the excuse of the absence of jurisdiction.

ABOUT FIRST INFORMATION REPORT (FIR)

• It is the information given to a police officer in writing as per the provisions of Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
• From the point of view of an informant, the main purpose of an FIR is to set criminal law into motion.
  • While for the police, the main purpose of an FIR is to obtain information about alleged criminal activity and take necessary steps to produce the perpetrator(s) before a court.