How to File an FIR

This article is purely informational and the entire information provided in the article has been gathered from a variety of authentic sources. Here’s how you file an FIR.

What is an FIR?

FIR (First Information Report) is a written report about a cognizable offence that is registered in the police station of concerned jurisdiction. Basically, it is a complaint lodged by the victim of a cognizable offence or by someone on his/her behalf.

What is a cognizable and a Non-cognizable offence?

A cognizable offence is one where the police may arrest a person without getting any warrant from courts. Police are allowed to start the investigation on their own and they don’t need any orders from the courts.

A non-cognizable offence is one where the police needs a warrant to arrest the accused. They cannot start the investigation without getting permission from the courts.

Importance of First Information Report (FIR)

FIR is a very important document because it is the starting point in the process of criminal justice. After filing an FIR, the police station where the FIR has been registered, starts the investigation of the case. The investigation of the case and a trial in the court revolves around the facts and charges stated in the FIR.

Who Can Lodge an FIR?

Any person who knows about the committed crime can lodge an FIR. It is not necessary that only the victim can file an FIR. A police officer can also file an FIR if he or she comes to know about any cognizable offence. An FIR can be filed if:

You’re the person against whom the crime has been committed.
You were a witness at the scene of crime or have knowledge of the offense.

You can report the crime either orally or in writing to the police. If a police officer doesn’t register your FIR, then it can be a ground for disciplinary action against the concerned officer. You can contact DPO (District Police Officer), or CCPO (Capital City Police Officer) or other higher officers like DIG (Deputy Inspector General) if the local police fail to entertain your request to register the FIR.

However, even after filing the FIR, police may not investigate the case because:

The registered case is not serious in nature.
There isn’t enough ground for investigation.
Their resources are overly committed to an investigation of an ongoing serious crime.

Note: Police need to give it in writing the reasons for not investigating the case.

How to File an FIR

The procedure of filing an FIR is as follows:

Go to the police station of concerned jurisdiction.

Give your statement to the concerned police officer. The police officer must write down each and every detail pertaining to the offence.
Once the police have recorded all the information, you need to verify all the information written in the FIR.
If the recorded information in registered FIR is correct, then you need to sign the FIR to verify that the information is written as per the details given by you.

Note: People who cannot read or write, can put their left thumb impression on the document.

Before leaving the police station, ask the officer to provide the copy of registered FIR if they haven’t given you a copy of the FIR.

Things you need to Mention in FIR

Your name and address
Date, time and location of the crime you are reporting
Name and description of the persons involved in the incident
Name and address of witnesses if there are any.
State the true facts of the crime

Things you should not do

Never give false information to the police
Don’t distort or exaggerate facts
Don’t give any vague or unclear statements

In order to facilitate the people, some provincial and city police departments have launched the online FIR system. Some provinces also allow the complainants to track the progress of the investigation against the registered FIR. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) police department has the E-FIR system which allows the residents of KPK to lodge FIR through the online system. How it can be done? Read the following instructions.

Access KP police official website.
Click on online FIR.

Enter your personal details and all the required details regarding the incident.
Once all the information has been entered, submit the online form.

Finally, you will be given an ID to track investigation progress.

Other provinces have police facilitation centres which complainants can visit to file an FIR. The complainant just needs to submit the written form along with CNIC copy to file an FIR.

There you have it! This article was all about how to file an FIR. If you have any questions regarding the FIR procedure, then let us know in the comments.