Kerala High Court: In a case filed by an Indian citizen residing in Australia, where the police had refused to register FIR on online complaint on the grounds that it was unsigned and sent via email from abroad, and that the petitioner’s personal presence could not be secured, the Single Judge Bench of Kauser Edappagath, J. held that the police could not refuse to register a First Information Report (‘FIR’) merely because the complaint was submitted through email from a foreign country without a physical signature.
Background
The petitioner was an Indian citizen, residing in Australia at the time. She had filed a complaint against her husband via email to the Director General of Police, Kerala. It appeared that the Director General of Police, Kerala, had forwarded the complaint to the jurisdictional police station. Subsequently, the Police had refused to take action on the complaint, stating that an unsigned complaint sent through email could not be accepted, and that since the petitioner was residing in Australia, her personal presence could not be secured. The petitioner had approached this Court, challenging the same.
Analysis and Decision
The Court stated that the implementation of Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNSS’), marked a significant shift in how the police handled information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence. Section 173 of the BNSS granted statutory recognition to the concept of Zero FIR, which now deals with the registration of FIRs in cognizable cases. Zero FIR had been introduced primarily to ensure that victims could file complaints regardless of jurisdiction. Consequently, the police could not refuse to register an FIR if a cognizable offence was made out in the complaint, even if the complaint was forwarded from a foreign country.
In light of this, the Court concluded that the rejection of the complaint filed by the petitioner, on the grounds that it was unsigned and sent via e-mail from Australia, could not be justified.
The Court noted that the complaint had been submitted in 2020. The petitioner had submitted that she was willing to file a fresh complaint. In view of the same, the Court disposed of the present case, directing the station house officer to act upon any fresh complaint submitted by the petitioner, in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the BNSS, particularly Section 173 thereof.
[X v. State of Kerala, 2025 SCC OnLine Ker 4030, decided on 20-06-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner: T.B.SHAJIMON, GOVINDU P.RENUKADEVI ,SAJEEV.T.P.
For Respondent: .E.C.BINEESH-SR.PP
Fir provides relaxation and no punishment,later on. That’s why, everyone is filing FIR. A complain instead of complaint must be done for a legal services to have i.e. having goods .