Complaint and FIR
Compliant and FIR are the terms, which are used
synonymously. However, the Code of Criminal Procedure provides definitions of
these terms and the legal aspects of complaint and FIR. In this particular
article, you will come to know the basic differences between these two
synonymous terms and the basic information that you need to know to enhance
your knowledge about the criminal law of our country.
Complaint:
The term complaint is related to the allegation. Without allegation,
there shall not be any complaint under the Code of Criminal Procedure. However,
any allegation cannot be considered as enough for forming a complaint. An allegation
is to be said as a complaint, if such an allegation is made to a Magistrate. In this
regard, it is to be noted that there is no such specification in the Code of
Criminal Procedure regarding the mode of making a complaint to the Magistrate.
In other words, a complaint may be made orally or in a written manner.
Basically, the complaint is made with an intention to
take action against an accused. As per the aforementioned code, a police report
is not to be assumed as a complaint.
From the above discussion, the following points can be
extracted:
1. A complaint is an allegation made to a magistrate
about an offence
2. It can be made orally or written
3. A complaint may be related to a cognizable offence
or a non-cognizable offence
First
Information Report (FIR):
If a person commits a cognizable criminal offence, the
action against such an accused is initiated with the First Information Report.
Without this document, the procedure for a criminal offence cannot be initiated.
In other words, it can be stated that the FIR is the first step that sets the
criminal law in motion. In addition, this FIR initiates the investigation of a
criminal offence.
The legal aspects of the First Information report
are:-
1. Any person is eligible to give information related
to any cognizable offence to the police
2. The first information must be given to a police
officer having proper jurisdiction
3. After receiving the information, the police officer
must keep the information in writing
4. The signature of the informant must be taken by the
police officer after reducing all the information about an offence
5. It is the duty of a police officer to provide a
copy of the First Information Report to the informant
Now,
if a police officer refuses to take the record of information or to lodge FIR,
the informant or the aggrieved person may send a copy of the information to the superintendent
of police.
Who can File FIR?
The Code of Criminal Procedure authorises the
following persons to lodge an FIR
a. A victim of a criminal offence
b. A witness to an incident related to a criminal
offence
c. Any other person, who has knowledge of any criminal
offence
d. Even a police officer can file an FIR if he/she
come to know the commission of a criminal offence
Thus, from the above discussion, it is clear that a complaint is an allegation before the magistrate, whereas the FIR is made before a police officer. On the other hand, an aggrieved party can make a complaint, but an FIR can be lodged by any person.
Reference
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