Zero FIR Under Section 173 BNSS, 2023 | Law in One Line 001 | EduLaw
EduLaw EditorialLaw in One LineUnderstand Zero FIR under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: meaning, procedure, example, transfer, e-FIR, refusal remedies and practical points.
EduLaw Law in One Line · Part 001 Criminal Law · BNSS ZERO FIR Can a police station refuse to take information about a cognizable offence merely because the incident happened somewhere else? Under Section 173 of the BNSS, territorial jurisdiction is not a barrier to the first reporting of the crime. Updated for the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Law current to August 2026 The law in one line A cognizable offence can be reported to a police station irrespective of the area where the offence was committed. A person who has just faced a serious crime should not have to solve a jurisdictional puzzle before the criminal law begins to move. That is the practical idea behind a Zero FIR. The victim or informant may approach a police station even when the offence occurred outside that station’s territorial limits. The information can be received first; questions of the correct territorial police station can be dealt with thereafter. The present statutory foundation is Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) . It provides that information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence may be given to the officer in charge of a police station irrespective of the area where the offence is committed . The Ministry of Home Affairs has expressly described this feature of the new criminal laws as the institutionalisation of Zero FIR. Section 173(1), BNSS — practical meaning “Wrong police station” should not become a reason for delaying the first reporting of a cognizable offence. What exactly is a Zero FIR? A Zero FIR is commonly understood as an FIR registered at a police station that does not have territorial jurisdiction over the place where the offence occurred. Instead of sending the complainant away to locate the “correct” police station, the information is taken on record and the case is subsequently transferred to the police station having territorial jurisdiction for further investigation, where appropriate. The expression “Zero FIR” is practical police terminology. The legal significance lies in the statutory rule that territorial limits do not prevent the initial giving of information relating to a cognizable offence. The Bureau of Police Research & Development’s SOP on Zero FIR under the new criminal laws explains the same operationally: a complainant may approach any police station, and where the cognizable offence occurred outside that station’s jurisdiction, the case may be registered as a Zero FIR and processed for transfer. Real example Delhi incident. Pune police station. Suppose A is assaulted in Delhi and travels to Pune immediately afterwards. In Pune, A approaches a police station and discloses facts that reveal a cognizable offence. The police should not simply say, “This happened in Delhi, go back there.” The information can be received under Section 173(1). The jurisdictional aspect can then be addressed through the prescribed process, including transfer to the concerned police station. How the process works The informant approaches a police station. The first question is whether the information discloses a cognizable offence, not whether the station is geographically convenient for the investigation. The information is recorded. Section 173 allows information to be given orally or by electronic communication. Oral information is reduced to writing and read over to the informant. Electronic reporting is recognised. Where information is given electronically, Section 173 provides for it to be taken on record on being signed by the informant within three days. Territorial jurisdiction is dealt with after the initial reporting. If the offence belongs to another police station’s area, the Zero FIR mechanism permits the matter to be transmitted to the police station that will investigate it territorially. The informant should retain the record. Under Section 173(2), a copy of the information as recorded is to be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant or victim. Zero FIR is not the same as “any complaint” The rule is especially important to understand with the expression cognizable offence . A cognizable offence is one in which the police have statutory authority to act in the manner contemplated by the BNSS without first obtaining the kind of Magistrate’s order required for investigation of a non-cognizable case. Zero FIR should therefore not be confused with a general statement that every type of grievance must automatically become an FIR. Point Zero FIR Ordinary territorial FIR Where reported A police station outside the place of occurrence may receive it. Usually registered at the police station having territorial jurisdiction. Purpose Prevent delay at the first reporting stage. Begin and continue the case within the competent territorial station. What happens next May be transferred to the jurisdictional police station. Investigation ordinarily proceeds from that station. What if the police refuse because of jurisdiction? If information discl