Zero Fir And Digital Procedure

The creation of jurisdiction-free F.I.R. is the foundation for the Zero FIR (First Information Report) idea. Justice Verma’s committee primarily proposed its inclusion in the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013, following the December 2012 occurrence involving the Nirbhaya Rape Case. Another name for it is the Nirbhaya Act. The Indian government’s Home Ministry issued a Zero FIR recommendation to all States and Union Territories on May 10, 2013, according to the Committee Report.

What is Zero FIR?

• Any police station, regardless of jurisdiction, may file a Zero FIR in response to a complaint about a crime that is punishable by law.
• • No standardized FIR number has been assigned as of yet. 
• The revenant police station files a new FIR and launches an inquiry after obtaining the Zero FIR.
• Its purpose is to make it easier and faster for victims of major crimes, women and children in particular, to file a complaint online, saving them the trouble of traveling from one police station to another.
• It also serves to guarantee that witnesses and evidence are not misplaced or altered as a result of complaint filing delays.
• It is moved to the appropriate police station where the crime was committed or if further investigation is required.

Zero FIR Under Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023

• While filing an FIR was allowed under Section 154 of the CrPC, Section 173 of the BNSS contains a comparable provision.
• It should be mentioned that the Indian criminal justice system has long used the idea of a Zero FIR. 
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (2015) released a recommendation in which the government proposed the registration of Zero-FIR for crimes against women.

Procedure for Filing Zero FIR

• A complainant may file a complaint with any police station, regardless of its territorial jurisdiction Clause 173(1) BNSS.
• Regardless of the jurisdiction, the SHO or the officer on duty records the details of the complaint in the Zero FIR register upon receiving any information regarding the commission of a cognizable offence that has been committed outside of that police station’s territorial jurisdiction. The case will then be registered as Zero FIR or “O” FIR under applicable legal sections.
• The officer files the Zero FIR after meeting the conditions outlined in Section 173 BNSS. “Zero” is appended to the FIR number to denote that it is a Zero FIR. The informant or the victim shall promptly get a free copy of the information as recorded according to sub clause (1) under Clause 173(2) BNSS.
• The officer notifies the police station with jurisdiction over the incident site of the Zero FIR.
• The Zero FIR is received by the concerned police station, which then logs it in their system as a standard FIR.
• An investigating officer is given the FIR by the SHO for additional action.
• The investigating officer carries out the investigation in accordance with BNSS standard operating procedures.
• The complaint receives regular updates on the investigation.

Digital Procedure for Filing Zero FIR

• Should the offense be reported via electronic mail, the police have to document it.
• For the electronic report to be formally recorded, it must be signed within three days.

Clause 173 of the BNSS 2023 now contains a statutory mandate for Zero FIR. Even if the incident did not take place within the police station’s jurisdiction, anyone wishing to report a crime can go to any police station and file a formal complaint (FIR). The inquiry is then started by the police station where the report is lodged, which also assigns a temporary case number (a Zero FIR). The file is then moved to the police station that is in charge of the area where the offense occurred.

When a victim or witness needs prompt police involvement and waiting to reach the appropriate jurisdiction could result in needless delays, zero-fault reports are especially helpful.  It helps guarantee that the legal procedure gets underway as soon as possible and that jurisdictional problems don’t impede the inquiry.

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