Police stations in Andhra Pradesh have been instructed to implement zero FIR rule which spares people in need of urgent help the hassle of making the rounds of police stations to lodge a complaint.
The decision comes in the wake of the case of sexual assault and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad whose family was allegedly denied registration of FIR at a police station due to jurisdiction issue.
Know about Zero FIR
Zero FIR, in simple terms, means that an FIR can be filed in any police station, irrespective of the jurisdictional limitations and location of the incident. If a woman is in trouble and wants to lodge a complaint, she can approach the nearest police station. The personnel will receive the complaint and forward the FIR to the station concerned.
The respective police station takes in the FIR and marks it as a zero FIR by giving it serial number zero and immediately transfer the documents over to the concerned jurisdiction. This has somewhat reduced the need for people to travel to the respective jurisdiction back and forth to file a case.
Failure by the police officer to file zero FIR will make him, eligible for imprisonment under section 166A. The imprisonment time can range from 6 months to 2 years, depending upon the level of complexity/severity of the committed incident.
