Law panel suggests limited rollout of e-FIR system

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, September 29

In tune with India’s progressive Digital India mission and National e-Governance Plan, the Law Commission has recommended allowing the registration of e-FIR for all cognisable offences where the accused is not known and the registration of such reports for all cognisable offences with a maximum punishment of three years where the identity of the accused is known.

“Due to the march of technology, means of communication have progressed in leaps and bounds. In such a landscape, clinging on to an archaic system of registering FIRs does not augur well for criminal reforms,” the commission said in its 282th report on Amendment in Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for Enabling Online Registration of FIR.

“The commission, therefore, is of the considered view that registration of e-FIR be enabled in a phased manner, beginning with offences bearing a punishment of up to a three-year imprisonment. This would allow the relevant stakeholders to test the efficacy of the proposed system, and at the same time, keep the possible misuse of such a facility to a bare minimum,” the commission headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said. “The commission is of the considered opinion that enabling registration of e-FIR would tackle the long persisting issue of delay in registration of FIRs allowing citizens to report crimes in real time. Further, the move would also align with the National e-Governance Plan of Government of India,” the report said. It also recommended amending Section 182, IPC, to provide for a maximum punishment of two-year imprisonment for lodging false FIRs. The panel suggested that a Centralised National Portal should be created to facilitate the registration of e-FIR. A procedure to implement it has been suggested by the commission in this report. It has been submitted to MoS for Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal.

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