What is zero FIR?
Importance of zero FIR?
Zero FIR works just like a regular FIR (First Information Report) filed at a police station, except for one key difference. With a regular FIR, you file it at the police station where the incident occurred, within that station’s jurisdiction. But with a zero FIR, you can file it at any police station, regardless of where the incident took place. This allows for quicker action and does not require you to travel to the specific area where the incident happened just to file the report. It’s a way to ensure that the legal process starts promptly, even if you’re not in the same location as the incident.
The concept of zero FIR was mainly propounded to be inserted in the Criminal Law Amendment by Justice Verma’s Committee after the incident of the Nirbhaya Rape Case. The term “FIR” stands for first information Report which is filed before the police by the person approached to the file information. The CrPC has not mentioned the definition of the term “FIR”. Zero FIR is the mode of lodging FIR in any police station irrespective of the offence committed in that area or any other area. There is no restriction over the informant to lodge Zero FIR. IN Zero FIR, the police officer is bound to take the complaint lodged by the informant and therefore transfers over another police station in whose jurisdiction of that area the offence has occurred.
The purpose of filing a Zero FIR is as follows;
- To avoid delay and any other kind of disruptions.
- To make police bound to take the Jurisdiction.
- Timely jurisdiction to be taken immediately after the registration of the FIR.
- To make sure that the investigation is done properly.
- To enable the case to proceed.
Zero FIR is the easiest way to get the complaint registered in the police station. If t5he crime has occurred outside of the jurisdiction of the police station, still the police are obliged to register the FIR as Zero FIR.
“Justice Delayed is Justice Denied” which means if person does not seek legal assistance timely then there is no ray to justice and thus amounting to a loss of the essence of the case. The case laws relating to Zero FIR are-
- Kriti Vashisht v. State and others,
- State v. Harman Singh
- State v. Satish Kumar
A Zero FIR is extremely useful for circumstances wherein s grave offence like murder, assault or an accident has taken place that requires instantaneous measure to be taken rather than contemplating about the jurisdiction limitations of a police station.