Police Must Register Regular FIR And Not 'Zero FIR' If Part Of Alleged Offence Occurred Within Its Jurisdiction: Delhi High Court

Ordinarily, if the crime has occurred outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Police Station receiving the complaint, then a Zero FIR must be registered and subsequently transferred to the competent Police Station which has territorial jurisdiction over the offence.

Justice Sanjeev Narula held,

“In the present case, a careful examination of the material placed on record reveals that one of the incidents of alleged forced sexual assault occurred at the Petitioner's residence situated in Adarsh Nagar, Delhi. This fact alone is significant, as it confers territorial jurisdiction upon P.S. Adarsh Nagar to entertain the complaint and register a regular FIR.

In this case, rather than exercising its jurisdiction, P.S. Adarsh Nagar proceeded to register a Zero FIR and transferred the matter to the police in Noida, U.P. Such action indicates a failure on part of the concerned police authorities to adhere to their statutory responsibility as enshrined under Section 154 Cr.P.C.”

Petitioner had challenged the transfer of her FIR levelling sexual harassment allegations from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh.

Her counsel argued that once the FIR was registered at Delhi, where the Petitioner resides and was subjected to sexual harassment, there was no justification for transferring the investigation to UP.

The Police Department on the other hand submitted that the first incident occurred in the area of Ghaziabad, UP and in the Petitioner's statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC, there was no specific allegation regarding any incident occurring within Delhi.

At the outset, the High Court observed, “the act of transferring the case to another state, when an offence also clearly occurred within its own jurisdiction, reflects a mechanical approach, which undermines the gravity of the allegations made by the Petitioner.”

The Court reiterated that in matters involving allegations of sexual assault, prompt and jurisdictionally appropriate police action is not merely a procedural formality but a foundational requirement for securing effective investigation and safeguarding the complainant's rights.

“Furthermore, the fact that one of the alleged incidents occurred within the territorial limits of P.S. Adarsh Nagar, in itself, was sufficient cause to register a regular FIR and initiate investigation from that police station.

The registration of a Zero FIR instead of a regular FIR in this context not only delayed the investigative process but potentially compromised the integrity of the evidence collection and investigation. The lapse in promptly recording a regular FIR could have led to the loss of material evidence. Such procedural infirmities carry the risk of weakening the prosecution's case,” the Court said.

As such, it directed Adarsh Nagar police station to register a regular FIR instead of a Zero FIR and conduct investigation.

Appearance: Mr. Prashant Manchanda, Mr. Mohit Saroha, Ms. Dimpy Chhilar, Mr. Angad Singh, Mr. Arun Kanwa and Mr. Baibhav, Advocates for Petitioner; Ms. Rupali Bandhopadhya, ASC with Mr. Abhijeet Kumar, Advocate for R1. SI Dipika, P.S. Adarsh Nagar. Mr. Anil Mittal, Mr. Shaurya Mittal and Mr. Atul Chauhan, Advocates for R-4

Case title: Ms. X v. State Of Nct Of Delhi And Others

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 526

Case no.: W.P.(CRL) 2949/2023

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