The decision of a 5-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P., (2014) 2 SCC 1 : AIR 2014 SC 187 : 2014 Cri LJ 470, is still fully valid and it is mandatory for the police to register FIR on the basis of an information or complaint which discloses commission of a cognizable offence.
However, there is a very small clarification issued in the said judgment subsequently which is as under. As you may notice, in para 120.2 of the main Lalita Kumari judgment, the Supreme Court had held that if the information received does NOT disclose a cognizable offence but indicates the necessity for an inquiry, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted only to ascertain whether cognizable offence is disclosed or not. In para 120.7 of the said judgment, the Supreme Court held that such preliminary inquiry should be made time-bound and in any case it should not exceed 7 days and that the fact of such delay and the causes of it must be reflected in the General Diary entry.
Subsequently, the same Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, vide its order dated 5 March 2014 had directed a minor modification in its aforesaid earlier order dated 12 September 2013 holding that a preliminary inquiry should be made time bound and in any case it should not exceed fifteen days generally and in exceptional cases, by giving adequate reasons, six weeks time is provided and the fact of such delay and the causes of it must be reflected in the General Diary entry.
Barring this minor clarification issued subsequently, the main Lalita Kumari judgment is fully valid and binding, and as per this judgment if the information given to police discloses commission of a cognizable offence then registration of FIR is mandatory.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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