Information in Cognizable Cases — First Information Report (FIR)

Explanation

Section 154 is arguably the most practically significant provision in the entire CrPC — the legal gateway through which every cognizable criminal case enters the justice system. The FIR (First Information Report) is the document that triggers the entire criminal procedure machinery: police investigation, arrest, chargesheet, and trial. Three requirements are absolute: (1) every information of a cognizable offence must be registered as FIR — no discretion to refuse; (2) a copy must be given to the informant free of cost immediately; and (3) the FIR must be read back to the informant before signing. The constitutional bench in Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P. (2014) settled the most contested question in Section 154 jurisprudence: registration of FIR is mandatory if the information discloses a cognizable offence — police cannot conduct a preliminary inquiry before registration except in specified categories (matrimonial disputes, commercial offences, medical negligence, corruption cases, and offences where parties personally appear). For all other cognizable offences, the FIR must be registered first, investigation follows registration. Section 154(3)'s escalation provision — where police refuse to register FIR, the aggrieved person can send the substance by post to the SP — is an important safeguard, though cumbersome in practice. Courts have also allowed direct complaint to Executive Magistrates under Section 190 and Section 156(3) applications to Judicial Magistrates as alternative routes when police refuse to register FIR.