The First Information Report — FIR — is the document recorded by a police officer upon receiving information about the commission of a cognizable offence. Registered under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS, 2023) — previously Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure — the FIR is the document that sets criminal investigation in motion.
Key characteristics: the FIR must be registered upon any information disclosing a cognizable offence (the Supreme Court's Lalita Kumari judgment made this mandatory); it is recorded in writing; it is signed by the informant (or read over to them if illiterate); a copy is delivered free to the informant; and it is transmitted to the area Magistrate.
For legal practice, the FIR is the foundational document on which all subsequent criminal proceedings rest. It is the starting point for bail applications, quashing petitions (Section 528 BNSS / Section 482 CrPC), anticipatory bail, and the defence strategy generally. The precise wording of the FIR — what offences are alleged, against whom, on what dates — determines the case the accused has to meet.
Common defence-side arguments centered on the FIR: delay in registration (unexplained delay can weaken prosecution); contradictions with later statements; allegations that fail to disclose a cognizable offence on their own terms (Bhajan Lal category 1); mala fides in registration (colourable exercise, political motivation).