Know Your Rights: A woman can lodge FIR at any police station irrespective of place of crime

Growing instances of sexual harassment in the form of rape, molestation have been a major concern for women in our society.

Such horrific offences are on the rise as many culprits go untouched because most women are still unaware of their rights to protect them against such heinous crimes.

The concept of a Zero FIR originated after many incidents were reported where the female victims were not aware of their right jurisdiction and were told to lodge the FIRs at their respective police stations.

The main purpose of the Zero FIR is to initiate the investigation of any criminal act at the earliest. As per a Supreme Court ruling, under Zero FIR, a rape or molestation victim can register her complaint from any police station irrespective of place of incident/jurisdiction.

The Justice Verma Committee Report in 2013 recommended a provision of Zero FIR in the new Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 after the heinous Nirbhaya case that shook the country in December 2012.

However after lodging an FIR, one must ensure that the police do not transfer the case to the appropriate police station without doing any investigation or taking legal action.

How to file a Zero FIR?

• Like all regular FIRs, a statement of the victim is recorded while registering the Zero FIR.

• The victim records details of the crime (murder, rape, accident, etc) with the police in a written form.

• To make his/her statement official, the victim signs the register.

• The victim has a right to get a copy of his/her complaint.

Zero FIR makes it easy for the victim to register his/her complaint. It also assists the police to investigate the case appropriately.