ISSUE:
Whether the police officer should compulsorily register an FIR under Section 154 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 relating to Cognizable offense or, the police officer, in order to check the authenticity of the complaint can conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR?
RULE:
Section 154(1) is mandatory in nature as the use of the word “shall” leaves out no room for discretion by the police. The use of this word tells us about the legislative intention. The legislative makers have not use words like ‘reasonable complaint’ and ‘credible information’ under section 154(1). The absence of these words shows that ‘reasonableness’ or ‘credibility’ of the received information is not a condition precedent for registration of a case. Use of the word “shall” does not mean police does not have any discretion. If it is a fake case, the FIR would become useless in the end. In that case, the police officer would submit a closure report to the magistrate.