Why Zero FIR exists
In emergencies, victims of crime previously faced delays when police stations turned them away citing jurisdictional boundaries. Following recommendations from the Justice Verma Committee and directives from the Supreme Court and Ministry of Home Affairs, all police stations across India are legally required to record a Zero FIR for cognizable offences.
Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 now explicitly recognizes this obligation, stating that information may be recorded irrespective of the area where the offence was committed.
When a Zero FIR is registered
A Zero FIR is used when someone reports an offence outside the local jurisdiction of the station:
- Crimes occurring during travel, such as on trains, highways, flights, or transiting between cities.
- Incidents where you are away from the place where the crime occurred and cannot safely return immediately.
- Severe offences requiring immediate medical attention, forensic collection, or magistrate statements.
What happens after registration
The police station records the statement under FIR number '0' and provides a free signed copy immediately upon registration.
The station conducts any urgent preliminary steps, such as hospitalisation or securing immediate physical evidence.
The complete file is then transferred to the jurisdictional police station, where it is assigned an annual serial number and formally investigated.
What happens on digital portals during transfer
While a Zero FIR is in transit between police stations, it does not appear on state citizen portals under number '0'. Portal search engines require choosing the station with jurisdiction and querying valid four-digit serial numbers.
Once the receiving police station logs the transferred case into its CCTNS register, it assigns a permanent serial number for that station and calendar year. Only after that conversion does the record enter the public portal and become searchable.