What to do if a false FIR has been filed against you?

Introduction:

False FIR's are getting registered almost everywhere in the Indian scenario be it politics, be it matrimonial matters, etc.

In recent times there has been a surge in the false FIR's. People basically implicate their opponents or any other person against whom they have a personal vendetta or they have had an altercation with them, with intent to harass them through the police and the courts.

People are scared of the police, they even fear going to the courts and on top of that getting framed in a criminal case is every person's worst nightmare, as a person once framed in a criminal case has to go through a lot of problems including the social stigma, his or her goodwill gets severely affected in a bad way.

As the practice of filing false FIR's has rapidly increased, with the help of this blogpost I try to provide information on what can be legally done when a person finds himself framed in a false FIR.

False FIR a new social evil:

The basic purpose of filing an FIR is to set the criminal law in motion. A first information report is an initial step in a criminal case that is written by a police officer, and once an FIR is written by the police officials, they start investigating the complaint received by them from the complainant.

A lot of time and other resources are wasted in fighting a criminal case as a trial takes a long time to conclude, the witnesses are cross-examined, the evidence is produced before the court, the person against whom the FIR has been filed has to be present before the court at all times decided by the court adjudicating his or her case.

People even sometimes file FIR's and then afterward settle the matter for some monetary gain, sometimes the people file FIR's just to extort money out of the other person and some people think and get so fed up that rather going through a trial, they think it is better to settle the matter.

This basically mentally and physically harasses the person accused in an FIR or in a criminal case!

What should a person do when they have been accused in a false FIR?

1. A copy of that FIR should be obtained.

2. Then the very first thing that person needs to do is to file a bail application before an appropriate court.

3. If an FIR is lodged for a non-bailable offence to avoid getting arrested a person can apply for Anticipatory Bail under section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a court of sessions or a high court.

4. if the police have arrested that person then he can only apply for regular bail application under section 437 or section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

5. The person shall provide all the relevant evidence before the court to prove the FIR is under false pretexts

6. Once that concerned person is enlarged on bail then he shall move an application under section 482of the Criminal Procedure Code before the High Court having territorial jurisdiction for quashing of that FIR.

7. Submit relevant evidence so that you can prove your innocence before the court so that the Hon'ble High Court invokes

Why section 482 of the code of criminal procedure?

Laws are made for the benefit of people. Some tend to use the laws with malign intentions to harm or punish a person in one way or the other. There is no particular provision that specifically provides for the quashing of false FIRs.

Once that concerned person is enlarged on bail then he or she can move an application under section 482 of the code of criminal procedure before the High Court having territorial jurisdiction for quashing of that FIR.

A High Court by virtue of section 482 has a lot of powers at their disposal pertaining to the criminal administration of justice. Under this section, a High Court can pass any order to meet the ends of justice even if there is no such provision for such order in the code of criminal procedure.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Punjab vs Kasturi Lal has held that the following principles would govern the excise of the inherent jurisdiction of a High Court:

1. The inherent power shouldn't be resorted to if a specific provision is present in the Criminal Procedure Code.

2. The inherent powers should be exercised very sparingly to prevent the abuse of the process of a court.

3. To otherwise secure the ends of justice.

Writ Jurisdiction for quashing of FIR:

A person can also file a writ petition under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution to invoke the writ jurisdiction of the High Court when a false FIR has been lodged against the accused person and the lower court also passes an unjust order then the aggrieved person can approach the High Court and if the concerned High Court is of the opinion that there is grave injustice taking place then, in that case, the court can issue a Writ of Prohibition or Mandamus.

What legal actions can be taken against the person who has filed a false FIR against you?

• You can file a complaint against the person under section 182 of the Indian Penal Code which provides for imprisonment for up to 6 months or a fine of Rs. 1000 or in some cases both when a person gives false information to a public servant with an intention to cause injury to another person.

• You can file a private complaint before the court under section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code praying that the person is punished under section 211 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 211 provides penal provisions when a person with the intent of causing harm to another person institutes any sort of criminal proceedings.

• You can also file an application before the Sessions Court under sections 227 and 228 of the Criminal Procedure Code for seeking discharge from the proceedings.

• A judge can also order compensation and thirty-day simple imprisonment under section 250 of The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 for the person who wrongfully accused another person through a false FIR.

• The person against whom the false FIR was filed can after getting acquitted or getting the FIR quashed can file a case under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code for Criminal Defamation.

• Apart from these remedies the person who has been wrongfully affected by the false FIR can file a suit for compensation under section 19 of the Code of Civil Procedure. As most of the false FIR's are filed to defame and tarnish the goodwill and image of that person in the society.

Conclusion:

There are many legal prudent provisions that are provided to punish people who use the law as a tool to harass other people. In this blog post, I try and provide the legal remedies that can be availed when a false FIR has been filed against you.