what is the procedure to lodge an FIR?  

simply visit the concerned Police station and lodge a General Diary, the Investigating officer will enquire and report FIR.

Answered by Glidor . at 6:41 PM on February 10, 2008

FIrst Information Report (FIR) is awritten document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First Information Report. It is generally a complaint lodged with the police by the victim of a cognizable ffence or by someone on his/her behalf.

The procedure of filing an FIR is prescribed in Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. When information about the
commission of a cognizable offence is given orally, the police must write it down. It is your right as a person giving information or making a complaint to demand that the information recorded by the police is read over to you. Once the information has been recorded by the police, it must be signed by the person giving Cognizable Offence. A cognizable offence is one in which the police may arrest a person without warrant. They are authorised to start investigation into a cognizable case on their own and do not require any orders from the court to do so.
Non-cognizable Offence A non-cognizable offence is an offence in which a police officer has no authority to arrest without
warrant. The police cannot investigate such an offence without the court's permission.
complaint even if you file a FIR, when: (i) The case is not serious in nature; (ii) The police feel that there is not enough ground to investigate. However, the police must record the reasons for not conducting an investigation and in the latter
case must also inform you. —[Section 157, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973]

Answered by subu at 1:41 PM on January 16, 2008

An FIR should have the following details-
1) a detailed description of the incident- date, time, place included.
2) If you know the accused- then his name and address. If not, as close a description as possible.
3) You must also put down exactly what happened. E.g. If you were felt up- how and where.

2. Do I have to report the incident only to another male officer?
there are all women's police stations that one can complain at. There is one close to the Corporation (Ph: 22290228/ 222 16242) However it is not mandatory for all police stations to have women officers.

3. How long does the whole procedure take? What am I getting involved in by lodging an FIR or reporting the 'eve teaser'?
Lodging of an FIR does not take very long, maybe a few hours, at the most. By lodging one, you are putting the criminal justice mechanism into motion That is, you are asking the police to begin investigating the incident that you have reported. It is then the job of the police to investigate, arrest, take down statements etc. You may be called by the police to identify the person/s they have arrested. The police then have to file what is called a chargesheet and then the case goes to trial before a judge, where you will be the primary witness, along with others, if there are any. It is difficult to say exactly how long this whole process takes. But one can safely say that it will be at least a few months- 4 or more, for the case to actually go to trail before a judge.


4. I think I was eve teased. This guy just looked at me in a way that made me feel sick. How can I take any action against it? I don't even know who he is. What constitutes as sexual harassment in the streets? What according to the law can be seen as 'eve teasing' or street sexual harassment? Is it looking, staring, and groping, stalking? What can police do to the perpetrator/ eve teaser? How is he punishable?

Answered by ankit at 5:06 PM on January 14, 2008