Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh

Facts

Lalita Kumari's father moved a writ of habeas corpus alleging the police refused to register an FIR or act on his complaint regarding the abduction of his minor daughter. Conflicting Supreme Court decisions existed on whether the police could conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR. The matter was referred to a Constitution Bench to settle the conflict.

Issues

• Whether registration of an FIR under S154(1) is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence.
• Whether the police may conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR.

Arguments

The petitioner argued that the mandatory word 'shall' in S154(1) leaves the police no discretion to refuse registration where a cognizable offence is disclosed. The State and police argued that a preliminary inquiry is necessary to weed out false, frivolous and malicious complaints before registration.

Held

The Court held that the word 'shall' in S154(1) is mandatory: an officer in charge of a police station must register an FIR when the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence, and no preliminary inquiry is permissible at that stage. Only where the information does not clearly disclose a cognizable offence and indicates a need to verify is a preliminary inquiry permitted, solely to ascertain whether a cognizable offence is made out, not to verify the veracity of the information. Such inquiry must be time-bound, ordinarily within 7 days, and reasons for closure must be recorded and supplied to the informant. Action must be taken against officers who fail to register FIRs where a cognizable offence is disclosed.

Ratio decidendi

Where information discloses a cognizable offence, registration of an FIR under S154 is mandatory and non-negotiable; a preliminary inquiry is permissible only in limited illustrative categories (e.g., matrimonial, commercial, medical negligence, corruption, abnormally delayed reporting) and only to determine whether a cognizable offence is disclosed.

Significance

The definitive Constitution Bench authority on FIR registration, resolving decades of conflicting precedent. It established a binding pro-registration rule with safeguards against abuse and is followed in virtually every FIR-registration dispute; the same mandatory scheme continues under S173 BNSS, 2023.

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