FIRST INFORMATION REPORT
(FIR)
• Definition:
"Every information relating to the
commission of a cognizable
offence which is given first in point
of time on which investigation is
commenced by the police officer."
• Relevant Provision:
Section 154 of Criminal Procedure
Code (CrPC), 1898.
• Contents of FIR:
1. Police Station
2. Offence complained of
3. Date, time, place of commission
of offence
4. Date of recording FIR
5. Name of informant
6. Name of suspected person
7. Distance of place of occurrence
from police station
8. Signature of person who
recorded FIR
9. Short story
10. Action of police (investigating
officer appointed for investigation)
• Elements of FIR:
1. Every information relating to the
commission of,
2. Cognizable offence
3. Oral or written (mode of
submitting statement)
4. Reduced into writing (if oral)
5. Read over to the informant
6. Signature of informant
[Link] to be maintained in
prescribed book
• Exceptions:
Offences against women under
section 336-B, 354, 354-A, 376,
509 of Pakistan Penal Code
(PPC), 1860.
(police is duty bound to go to her
place and in presence of female
police or female family member
take or record her statement and
victim need not to go to police
station to submit her statement)
If the cognitive offence falls under
these provisions, the statement
must be recorded by an
investigating officer in the
presence of a female officer or in
the presence of a female family
member or another person with
the complainant’s consent. If the
woman is distressed, the recording
must take place at her residence
or another place of her choice, in a
similar presence and with her
consent.
• Object of FIR:
[Link] set the criminal justice
system to motion - Mir
Muhammad v State (2013 MLD
1609) - "Object of S.154 was to
give information of cognizable
offence to Station House Officer to
set the machinery of law into
motion."
2. To convey information about the
commission of cognizable offences
• Who may lodge FIR?
Any person (aggrieved party,
person having no interest, police
as informant).
Eidan Khan v SHO Police
Station kambhra (2013 PCrLJ
1883)
"FIR can be lodged by any person
whether he has got interest in the
matter or not."
• Time of recording FIR
After the determination or
commission of cognizable offence
where police can arrest without
warrant and without the order of
magistrate can start the
investigation. Innocence or guilt
will be decided by court.
• FIR is a public document
It is open for all.
Hakim Ali v Pakistan Herald
Publications (pvt.) Ltd (PLD
2007 Kar. 415)
"Every person has right to get or
take copy of the FIR. It is not a
privileged document. A public
document is the property of public
and public have every right to
know the contents of the public
documents viz. F.I.R."
• Defect in FIR:
If the defect in the FIR is not
substantial—such as a minor
clerical or typographical error—
and does not affect the material
facts of the case, it has no bearing
on the validity of the FIR or the
investigation. It is not fatal.
2006 PCRLJ 191
• Effect of FIR:
The general rule is that FIR does
not have any evidentiary value. It
only creates doubt or contradiction
(contradictory evidence).
Ahmed Ali v State (2007 PCrLJ
372)
"Registration of a case does not
mean that the person against
whom allegations are levered are
in fact guilty of offence. FIR is
neither a substantive evidence nor
an exhaustive document. It may
be used to support or contradict
the statement of the person who
gave the information."
• Delay in FIR:
If there is a delay in the
lodging of an FIR without any
plausible or reasonable
cause, such delay can be
fatal to the prosecution's case,
rendering it doubtful. It casts
serious doubt on the
credibility of the prosecution’s
version, potentially rendering
the case fabricated, bogus, or
false. In such circumstances,
the benefit of doubt goes to
the accused.
Mst. Asia Bibi v State (PLD 2019
SC 64)
"In the absence of any plausible
explanation, the Supreme Court
has always considered a delay in
lodging of FIR to be fatal, and it
casted a suspicion of the
prosecution story, extending the
benefit of doubt to the accused."
• Dying declaration as FIR:
It can be treated as FIR. It can be
used as a substantive piece of
evidence.
• Use of FIR in bail cases:
Though FIR is not a substantive
piece of evidence but it can be
used for some other purposes like
while considering the question of
grant of bail, the court generally
refers to the FIR in order to find
out whether the accused was
nominated in the FIR and if so,
what overt act was attributed to
him in respect of alleged crime.
• Obligation of police to record
FIR:
Malka Jan v Inspecter General
of Police,
Peshawar (2000 PCRLJ 320)
"Police is duty bound to register
FIR After commission of
cognizable offence and refusal to
register case is out of question."
• Quashment of FIR:
The quashment of an FIR
refers to the cancellation or
nullification of the First
Information Report when it is
found to be frivolous,
baseless, or an abuse of legal
process. Partial quashment is
not allowed. There are 3 types
of authorities who can quash
the FIR.
The High Court has inherent
powers under Section 561-A
CrPC to quash an FIR or
criminal proceedings to
prevent abuse of process of
law or to secure the ends of
justice. The grounds for
quashment by High Court
include: FIR is malicious or
based on false allegations,
allegations do not disclose any
cognizable offence, FIR is
lodged with ulterior motives,
like personal enmity. In short,
FIR is baseless.
A Magistrate under the CrPC
does not have the power to
quash an FIR. However, after
submission of the police
report under Section 173
CrPC, the Magistrate can
discharge the accused if no
sufficient ground for
proceeding is found under
Section 63.
Section 169 does not give
police the power to "quash"
an FIR, but it does allow the
police to release the accused
during investigation if there is
no sufficient evidence against
them.
• SECOND FIR:
Gulzar Ahmed v Mushtaq
Ahmed (PLD 1998 Lah. 111)
"Second FIR can't be lodged
regarding the same occurrence
but registration of a 2nd FIR
embodying the counter-version of
a case is neither legally barred nor
can be refused to be registered."
Mst. Sughran Bibi v State (PLD
2018 SC 595)
"No separate FIR was to be
recorded for any new version of
the same incident brought to the
notice of the investigating officer
during the investigation of the
case."
The concept of second and third
FIR ended after sughran bibi case
in 2018.