1250 February 10 2022

Settling It the Indian Way: From FIRs to ‘Chalo Ji, Suljha Lo' 

So, you’ve found yourself in the enviable position of having to interact with the police. Maybe you’re there to file a complaint, maybe someone has already dragged your name into one, or maybe you’re just the unlucky friend who got stuck tagging along. Either way, congratulations—you’ve just enrolled yourself in the greatest crash course of your life: “How to Navigate Indian Police Procedure Without Losing Your Mind.” To help you survive, let’s dive into the essentials with the help of a completely fictitious but painfully realistic story about two innocent souls, Jaggu and Jugni.

First, let’s talk basics. A “complaint” is simply you walking into a police station, waving a piece of paper at the duty officer, and saying, “Hey, something terrible happened.” That alone doesn’t do much. However, if that “terrible thing” happens to qualify as a cognizable offence—translation: something serious like murder, rape, kidnapping, or theft—then your complaint graduates into an FIR, otherwise known as a First Information Report. This is when the police are legally obliged to write it down in their big book and pretend to take it seriously. And don’t stress too much about remembering the details. The Supreme Court has already made it clear (CBI v. Tapan Kumar Singh, 2003) that an FIR is not meant to be an encyclopedia. You can absolutely forget names, faces, or even how the whole thing happened. Just say, “A crime took place,” and you’re good to go.

Now, let’s meet our star performers: Mr. Jaggu and Mrs. Jugni, two co-workers at a hospital in Karol Bagh, Delhi. One fine day, Jugni storms into the police station with a complaint that Jaggu attacked her with dangerous weapons. That’s a serious allegation under Section 324 of the IPC, and since it qualifies as a cognizable offence, the police are legally forced to register an FIR. The duty officer does the paperwork, gives Jugni her copy of the FIR, and hands the matter over to the Investigation Officer, who suddenly becomes the main character of our story. Thanks to the nature of the offence, poor Jaggu can now be arrested without a warrant. Of course, Jaggu has options too—he can scurry over to the Tis Hazari Court and apply for anticipatory bail, because in this country, paperwork is always balanced with more paperwork.

Once the FIR is registered, the Investigation Officer sets out to work, which mostly involves collecting witness statements and calling people who want nothing to do with the case. He visits the hospital and discovers there are only two witnesses: a nurse and a patient. Section 160 of the CrPC gives him the power to summon witnesses, but only if they live in his jurisdiction. So, the nurse who resides in Karol Bagh is fair game. She can be called to the police station—where she’s technically entitled to travel expenses—or the IO can magnanimously show up at her house. The patient, however, has escaped to Lucknow, and therefore beyond the IO’s jurisdiction. But don’t worry, modern technology comes to the rescue. The IO sends him a WhatsApp summons, politely asking him to attend a video call at 2 PM sharp on Monday. If the patient ignores it, no big deal, because the law doesn’t allow the IO to drag him back anyway.

Eventually, both witnesses cooperate, and the grand revelation arrives: Jaggu did not, in fact, use any dangerous weapons. Instead, he went old-school—pulling Jugni’s hair, shoving her down, and giving her a few solid smacks. Hardly the machete-wielding criminal Jugni had described. As a result, the charges are downgraded from Section 324, a cognizable offence, to Section 323, which is a non-cognizable, bailable offence. In simpler words, Jaggu has now gone from “potential criminal” to “naughty child who needs to say sorry.” and settle the matter.

With the excitement drained out, the IO may now file what’s called a closure report. This is police jargon for “we tried, we didn’t find much, can we go home now?” The court, of course, has the final say. Sometimes, it simply accepts the report and lets the accused walk away. Sometimes, if the complainant is particularly persistent (and has filed a protest petition), the court orders a deeper investigation. And on other days, the court might toss out the closure report altogether and decide to take matters forward, ensuring everyone remains trapped in this legal soap opera for a few more months—or years.

Here’s the kicker: if the police actually register your case and start investigating, it automatically becomes a State Case. On the other hand, if the police refuse to register your complaint, you get the thrilling opportunity to knock on the court’s door yourself, in which case it becomes a Complaint Case. Either way, your life is about to be consumed by forms, hearings, and delays that could outlive your enthusiasm, if not your patience.

So, here’s the reality check: in India, when it comes to small, non-cognizable offences—like a shove in the corridor or a few dramatic hair pulls—the system usually prefers settlement over courtroom drama. Under Section 320 of the CrPC, many of these minor offences can be “compounded,” which is just a fancy legal way of saying, “Let’s wrap this up without dragging everyone through endless hearings.” In practice, this means the complainant and the accused are encouraged to sort things out—sometimes with apologies, sometimes with a little compensation, and almost always with a sigh of relief that it didn’t turn into a full-blown trial. The courts, already drowning in serious cases, are more than happy to see these petty quarrels settled quickly. After all, not every fight needs a landmark judgment—sometimes it just needs both sides to shake hands, mutter “chalo, khatam karo,” and move on with their lives.

Author

avatar
Adv. ALOK KUMAR
Advocate Serving Delhi NCR
Delhi High Court & District Courts
LL.B.▪︎Faculty of Law▪︎Delhi University


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