Imagine you’ve just been robbed on a highway, far from home, in a city you’ve never visited before. Exhausted and shaken, you walk into the nearest police station, only to be told, “Sorry, this isn’t our jurisdiction, you’ll have to go file your complaint elsewhere.” For decades, this was a real and painful possibility for crime victims across India. The law has now closed that gap. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, two concepts, the Zero FIR and the e-FIR, have been given clear statutory backing under Section 173. Here’s a complete, easy-to-follow breakdown of what they mean, how they work, and what to do if a police officer refuses to register one.
A Quick Recap: What Changed With BNSS?
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the old Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and came into force on 1 July 2024. What used to be Section 154 of the CrPC, dealing with the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) for cognizable offences, is now Section 173 of the BNSS. Interestingly, much like the old CrPC, the BNSS still doesn’t formally define the term “FIR” anywhere in its text, even though the entire criminal justice process effectively begins with it. The real shift isn’t just a renumbering exercise, though. Section 173 also gives formal, codified recognition to two practices that earlier existed mostly through court rulings and government advisories: Zero FIR and e-FIR.
What Is a Zero FIR?
A Zero FIR allows any person to report a cognizable offence at any police station, regardless of where the crime actually took place. It doesn’t matter if the incident happened in another district or even another state. Under Section 173(1) of the BNSS, the words “irrespective of the area where the offence is committed” make this jurisdictional flexibility explicit and legally binding.
Here’s why it’s called a “Zero” FIR. When such a complaint is registered at a police station that doesn’t have territorial jurisdiction over the crime, it is given a serial number of “0” instead of the regular sequential FIR number. This zero-numbered FIR is then transferred to the police station that actually has jurisdiction, where it gets re-registered as a regular FIR and assigned to an investigating officer who takes the case forward.
Where Did Zero FIR Come From?
The idea of Zero FIR isn’t brand new. It traces back to the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, set up in the aftermath of the horrific 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, which urged that no police station should be allowed to turn away a victim simply on grounds of jurisdiction. The Ministry of Home Affairs followed up with a 2015 advisory recommending Zero FIRs specifically for crimes against women. Even before that, the Supreme Court had made its position clear in State of A.P. v. Punati Ramulu and Ors., ruling that a police officer must record information about a cognizable offence and forward it to the appropriate station, rather than refusing to act because the crime fell outside their jurisdiction. What BNSS 2023 has done is take this judicially evolved practice and write it directly into the law itself.
What is an e-FIR?
The second major reform under Section 173 is the e-FIR, the ability to report a cognizable offence electronically rather than walking into a police station in person. Under Section 173(1), information about a cognizable offence may be given “orally or by electronic communication,” which opens the door to filing complaints through email, an online portal, or other digital means recognised by the state government.
There’s one important procedural step to keep in mind here: if the offence is reported electronically, the informant is required to sign the recorded information within three days for it to be treated as an officially registered e-FIR. This signature requirement exists to convert what is essentially a digital tip-off into a legally valid, verified police record. Before this formal sign-off, courts have generally treated the information more as a foundation for verification than a fully registered FIR in itself.
Step-by-Step: How the Process Actually Works
So what actually happens once you walk in or log on to report a crime? Here’s the typical sequence under Section 173:
Step 1: Reporting the offence. You can report a cognizable offence orally, in writing, or electronically, at any police station, irrespective of jurisdiction.
Step 2: Recording the information. If given orally, the officer must write it down, read it back to you, and have you sign it. If given electronically, you must sign the recorded version within three days.
Step 3: Receiving your free copy. Under Section 173(2), you are entitled to a copy of the registered information immediately and free of cost. Keep this copy safely; it’s your documentary proof that the complaint was registered.
Step 4: Transfer, if needed. If the offence occurred outside that station’s jurisdiction, it is registered as a Zero FIR and forwarded to the correct police station.
Step 5: Re-registration and investigation. The receiving police station re-registers it as a regular FIR with its own serial number and assigns an investigating officer.
The Preliminary Enquiry: A New Twist Under Section 173(3)
One genuinely new feature under BNSS that didn’t exist quite the same way under the CrPC is the concept of a preliminary enquiry for a specific category of offences. Under Section 173(3), if the cognizable offence in question is punishable with imprisonment of three years or more but less than seven years, the officer-in-charge may, with prior permission from an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, either conduct a preliminary enquiry to check whether a prima facie case exists, or go straight ahead with the investigation. This preliminary enquiry must be completed within 14 days.
It’s worth being clear that this preliminary enquiry route is not a backdoor to refuse registering a complaint altogether, nor does it apply to all offences. It only applies to this specific punishment bracket, and the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh (2014) 2 SCC 1 remains the guiding precedent: if the information clearly discloses a cognizable offence, registering the FIR is mandatory, and a preliminary enquiry cannot be used to indefinitely delay that duty.
Special Safeguards for Vulnerable Victims
Section 173 builds in specific protections that reflect lessons learned over years of criminal justice reform. When a woman reports an offence relating to sexual violence (covered under specified sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023), the information must be recorded by a woman police officer or another woman officer, never by a male officer alone. For victims who are temporarily or permanently disabled, mentally or physically, the law requires that the information be recorded at the victim’s residence or a place of their choosing, with an interpreter or special educator present if needed, and the entire process must be videographed. These provisions aim to make the reporting experience less intimidating and more dignified for people who are often most vulnerable to being turned away or mishandled.
What If the Police Refuse to Register Your Zero FIR or e-FIR?
This is one of the most practically important questions, and the law does give you a path forward. If a police officer declines to register your complaint:
You can approach the Superintendent of Police or another higher police authority, who is empowered under Section 175 of the BNSS to direct registration or investigation.
You can also approach the jurisdictional Magistrate, who can direct the police to register and investigate the matter.
A police officer who refuses to register an FIR for a cognizable offence isn’t just being unhelpful, they may be committing a punishable act. Such refusal can attract action under Section 199 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with a public servant disobeying a direction of law, alongside potential departmental disciplinary proceedings for dereliction of duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Zero FIR is registered at a police station that does not have territorial jurisdiction over where the crime occurred; it’s marked with the serial number “0” and then transferred to the appropriate station. A regular FIR is registered directly at the police station that actually has jurisdiction over the offence.
e-FIR provisions under Section 173(1) apply to cognizable offences, meaning offences serious enough that police can investigate and arrest without needing prior court permission. For non-cognizable offences, the matter is instead recorded in the police station’s General Diary, and you may need to approach a Magistrate for further direction.
In most cases, yes, at least to sign the recorded information. The law requires the informant to sign the electronically submitted information within three days for it to be validly recorded as an FIR.
No. Under Section 173(2) of the BNSS, you are entitled to receive a copy of the recorded information immediately and free of cost.
You can escalate the matter to the Superintendent of Police or a higher police authority under Section 175 of the BNSS, or approach the jurisdictional Magistrate directly. Refusal to register a valid FIR can also expose the officer to action under Section 199 of the BNS and departmental disciplinary proceedings.
For further reading and detailed analysis, refer to this resource.
