The first step in setting the criminal law in motion is to report the commission of a crime. The impression of the general public is that the process of reporting an offence and setting the law in motion is “Kafkaesque”. Although, the statutory provisions on reporting crimes is indeed filled with jargons, the procedure involved is straightforward and direct.

The primary question that arises on the subject of reporting crimes is, who can report the commission of a crime and to whom?

According to the procedural laws in India, it is not necessary that only the victim needs to report the crime. Any individual can pass the report to the law enforcement agency. Concerning the question to whom, the information can be provided both to the jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate and the police.

An individual who wants to report the commission of a crime has two options. Either file a complaint with the Magistrate or to give information to the police. In comparison, the former method involves prosecution by private persons and the latter proceeds with an investigation by police and trial thereof.

Difference between Complaint and Information

Information – According to Section 154 CrPC, any information regarding commission of a cognizable offence can be reported to the police by a victim or a witness or a person who knows the offence. The information provided will be recorded as an FIR.

Complaint – According to Section 2(d) of CrPC, a complaint is an allegation made to the Magistrate in verbal or writing form which states the offence committed by an individual whether known or unknown and does not consist of a police report.

Difference

Though in everyday practice, verbal information provided to a police officer is called a complaint, as per CrPC, it will be treated as information and not a complaint.

An FIR can be registered only for a cognizable offence whereas a complaint can be filed for both cognizable as well as a non-cognizable offence.

An FIR is registered at a police station near the crime location based on verbal or oral information while a complaint is made to the Magistrate verbally or in writing.

In case of FIR, the police will investigate the crime, and upon once the investigation is completed, the final report will be sent to the Magistrate. From thereon, the State will conduct the trial. The de-facto complainant will be the original informant and will be arrayed as a witness. The de-jure complainant will be the State.

Although in the case of a Private Complaint, the private person who filed the complaint will prosecute the accused person.

A procedure for filing criminal complaints has been laid down by the Criminal Procedure Code. The following steps will clear any doubts one may have when filing a criminal complaint in India:

1. Filing an FIR
2. Criminal Complaint: The Plaint
3. Criminal Complaint: Vakalatnama
4. Criminal Complaint: Court Fees