FIR in Pakistan: Section 154 CrPC

The section, as retrieved

154. Information in cognizable cases: Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction and then read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the Provincial Government may prescribe in this behalf. Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 — Chapter XIV, Section 154. Retrieved from the corpus indexed by FAI Legal Research Assistant.

Retrieved via full-text search of the indexed Criminal Procedure Code 1898. The corpus flags this text as unverified for currency or amendment — see the caution below before relying on it.

What this means

An FIR is the written record a police station is required to make of a report of a cognizable offence — one serious enough that the police can investigate and arrest without first obtaining a magistrate's order. The section applies to information given orally; it must be taken down, read back to the person giving it, and signed by them. A running register of such reports is kept at the station.

Section 154 covers only cognizable offences. A non-cognizable offence is instead recorded under Section 155 CrPC, and ordinarily requires a magistrate's permission before the police can investigate.

What this page does not cover

• Amendments and provincial rules made after the text above was indexed — the corpus does not yet flag repeals or amendments automatically, so a lawyer relying on this for a live matter should confirm the current text against an official or recently updated source.
• What happens if a police station refuses to register an FIR (the remedies sit in later sections and in case law, not in Section 154 itself).
• The procedure once an FIR is registered — investigation, charge sheet, and trial are governed by later chapters of the Code.

Frequently asked

Is an FIR the same as a criminal charge?

No. An FIR opens an investigation; it is not a finding of guilt or a formal charge. Whether a case proceeds to trial depends on what the investigation finds.

Can the police refuse to register an FIR for a cognizable offence?

Section 154 does not give the police that discretion for a cognizable offence — the information "shall" be reduced to writing. Disputes over refusal are addressed through remedies outside this section, which this page does not attempt to summarize.