Cancellation of FIR in India

Supreme Court and High court of India has power to quash a FIR which is frivolous in nature and there is no need to pursue the case necessarily against the alleged person. The Apex court has to quash a FIR very cautiously and sparingly and has to see many reasons in the case for quashing an FIR. Inherent Powers are in Sec. 482 this section is to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.

In Nikhil Merchant V. Central Bureau Of Investigation & Anr. the Apex court held that High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash criminal proceedings or a FIR or complaint and Section 320 Cr.PC does not limit or affect the power of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code. In Manoj Sharma V. State & Ors. the Apex Court held that Where continuing with the proceeding would be a futility, quashing of FIR should not be refused.

Quashment is also used for the phrase quashing of FIR. In certain cases if court find that it is not necessary to pursue the case further is needed court quash the proceedings and stop the frivolous proceedings. These Powers are imbibed in Section 482 of the code of Criminal Procedure.

What is the law on FIR?
FIR is governed by Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
According to Section 154, (1) Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offense, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informants and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf. (2) A copy of the information as recorded under sub-section (1) shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant. (3) Any person, aggrieved by a refusal on the part of an officer in charge of a police station to record the information referred to in sub-section (1) may send the substance of such information, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offense, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer Subordinate to him, in the manner provided by this Code, and such officer shall have all the powers of an officer in charge of the police station in relation to that offence.

Is it your right to get a copy of FIR?
Yes! Its your right to get a copy of your FIR free of cost from the police

Should FIR be lodged ASAP? What will happen if there is a delay in filing FIR?
Yes, FIR must be lodged as soon as possible. If there is a delay in filing the FIR, it will help the accused because the accused shall get time to destroy the evidence, there shall be a problem in locating the witnesses and during the trial, the defense lawyer will make an allegation that FIR is an after thought.

Why they refuse to file FIR?
There are few reasons the police refuses to lodge FIR like the offense is not a cognizable offense. Sometimes they want to keep the crime graph low so if they don't lodge FIR, it will not show in the crime statistics in the area. Many a times, a party bribes police officers and that's why they refuse to lodge FIR. In most of mobile theft cases, it is a common practice that police does not register a FIR but registers a NCR so the graph of theft remains low.

What should you do if the police officer refuses to lodge a FIR?
If the police refuses to lodge FIR, don't think that this is the end of the road. The Criminal Procedure Code has a provision under section 156(3) where an aggrieved person may file a petition before the magistrate asking for a direction to the police to lodge a FIR.