After the Nirbhaya Case, Justice Verma’s Committee was established, and it presented the idea of Zero FIR in criminal law. As is common knowledge, “FIR” refers to the First Information report that the person bringing the complaint points out to the police. The definition of “FIR” has not been mentioned in the Criminal Procedure.

Depending on the crime in that area or any other place, a zero FIR is how a FIR is filed in any police station. The snitch has no restrictions on how many FIRs they can file. In a Zero FIR, the police officer is obligated to handle the complaint lodged by the Informer and is consequently transferred to another police station under the jurisdiction of which the incident occurred.

A serial digit is not present in the zero FIR. It is instead assigned the value “0” (zero), thus the name. According to the location where the crime was committed, it is documented. The police station transfers it to the authority police station where the incident occurred after it has registered zero FIRs. It was enacted on the advice of the Justice Verma Committee, which was established in the wake of the terrible gang rape of Nirbhaya in Delhi in 2012..

The objective of a Zero FIR

• To avoid delay and any other kind of disruptions.
• To make police bound to take the jurisdiction.
• Timely jurisdiction is 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 fast.

Judiciary on Zero FIR

There has been judiciary support for Zero FIR. Courts have understood the value of Zero FIR and have come down laboriously on the police personnel for their reluctance to register Zero FIR. 

The Supreme Court of India in Union of India vs Ashok Kumar Sharma and Others in 2020 observed that “the Police Station where the FIR is filed does not need to have jurisdiction; it is driven over to the Police Station that has the authority of that matter.” 

Hence, when details are given to a Police Officer, within the meaning of Section 154 of the CrPC, about the commission of an offense that is cognizable, the Police Officer must file an FIR and then make it over to the Inspector.”

Validity and practicality of the Zero FIR?

The practicality and validity of a Zero FIR are similar to that of regular FIR. After filing Zero FIR, the person can inspect if the case has been moved to the police station with the authority and request for inspection without further delay.

To exemplify, in the case of god man Asaram Bapu, the family members of the 16-year-old filed a Zero FIR in Delhi against the blamed. At the same time, the place of sexual misuse of the nominal was Asaram’s Ashram in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The registered Zero FIR in Delhi was transferred to Jodhpur for further investigation. Then the Jodhpur police took up the research and arrested the accused.

Hence it becomes crucial to understand the effects police officer will have to face if they refuse to register FIR: –

• Filing FIR by a police officer is compulsory, as discussed in section 154 of CrPC. As discussed above, officers who refuse to register FIR, especially when the case is related to certain offenses against women ( rape, sexual assault, and so on), can be penalized with detention for one year or with a fine, as discussed in Section 166A of the IPC.
• Punishing Action will be brought against the police officers who do not report the FIR if the details he receives reveal an offense of cognizable nature, citing authority situations.

Zero FIR is, therefore, a vital tool for claiming citizens’ rights and encouraging confidence within the general public about the efficacy of police in taking out inquiries in a quick manner without any specialized territorial hindrances. 

How to register an FIR / Zero FIR?

It is crucial to know whether the offense is cognizable or not before submitting a Zero FIR. A major offense, such as rape, theft, murder, or theft, is a cognizable violation. On the other hand, information is submitted to the court via a complaint for crimes that are not immediately identifiable, such as criminal breach of trust, unnatural offenses, and so forth.

If the crime is non-cognizable, the matter is reported to the magistrate, whereas in a cognizable offense, FIR is registered. Even if the crime is non-cognizable, the police will still take and keep the information in ‘their journal. The steps upon which the FIR is registered are as follows:

• The crime should be cognizable.
• If a female gives the details as per sections 326A, 326B, 354, 354A, 354B, 354C, 354D, 376, 376A, 376 B, 376E, or section 509 of IPC 1860, then a female officer must enlist the FIR. 
• When the crime is beneath sections 326A, 326B, 354, 354A, 354B, 354C, 354D, 376, 376A, 376 B, 376E, or section 509 of the IPC 1860 issued by a person who is disabled, then the agreement has to be made by the police for recording their statement in the presence of the interpreter.
• The information must be in the form of a video.
• A record of a person’s statement must be under the presence of a magistrate as per section 164 of sub-section 5A. 

Who can register a Zero FIR?

A Zero FIR can be registered by the victim or witness who knows the facts connecting to the happening.

Is zero FIR mandatory to be registered by the police?

FIRs are typically filed at the police station. However, there are some instances in which FIR was filed via email and by communicating the scene by phone. Due to digitalization, there are certain times when people file claims online on official sites.

Similarly to FIR, the zero FIR confirms that the police file the FIR and sidesteps any other problem while stating. The benefit of filing zero FIR is that it bypasses any doubtful time consumption and allows the police to study quickly. The process of registering a zero FIR is somehow related to filing FIR. If the officer refuses to report a Zero FIR, the person filing the complaint can write to the higher officer. Yet, if it doesn’t work, they can pass the file to the magistrate via a lawyer.

Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 says that whenever an informant comes to the police station and submits his complaint, the information is converted into writing by the police officer and therefore keeps the record registered in the book as per the direction of the State Government. The informant is also given a copy of the FIR which is free of cost. FIR is registered when the offence committed is cognizable in nature.

Difference between FIR and ZERO FIR

The only distinction between a FIR and a Zero FIR is that a FIR must be submitted as a complaint by the informant when the incident occurred in the area where the police station has the authority to conduct an investigation, whereas a Zero FIR may be submitted to any police station regardless of where the incident occurred.

Conclusion

The shortest way to make a complaint at the police station is with a Zero FIR. Even if the offense occurred outside of their purview, the cops must nevertheless file an. Because of how quickly technology is developing, some jurisdictions also permit online FIR, which allows a person to submit the FIR on the police station’s official website. The FIR condition, however, may be examined virtually.