Supreme Court clarifies police role, here’s what the top court said on registering FIRs

The Supreme Court has once again emphasized that the police are bound to register a First Information Report (FIR) whenever a complaint indicates a cognizable offence on the face of it. The Court underlined that law enforcement officers are not required to assess the truthfulness, credibility, or reliability of the information at the stage of registration.

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The clarification came while the Court was hearing a matter related to directions of the Delhi High Court for lodging FIRs against former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and Inspector Vinod Kumar Pandey. The complaints, dating back to 2000, accused them of intimidation, record falsification, and forgery during their deputation with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

 Police’s duty is limited to registering the case

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale upheld the High Court’s decision, reiterating the settled principle that the police’s duty is limited to registering the case if a cognizable offence is disclosed. The Court highlighted that earlier rulings, including the 2006 judgment in Ramesh Kumari v. State (NCT of Delhi), had already established that genuineness or credibility of information cannot be a precondition for initiating an FIR.

By reaffirming this principle, the Supreme Court has ensured that preliminary evaluations by the police do not delay or obstruct the process of criminal law. The responsibility of determining whether allegations are genuine rests with the investigation and subsequent judicial scrutiny, not at the threshold stage of registration.