How to File a Zero FIR Under BNSS Section 173 in India

A crime happened, but the nearest police station says it is not their area and turns you away. Under the new law that station now has a legal duty to register your complaint as a Zero FIR, regardless of where the offence took place.

A Zero FIR is a First Information Report numbered “zero” because it is registered at a station that does not have territorial jurisdiction over the crime. The station records it, then transfers it to the correct station for investigation. It stops you from being shuttled between stations while evidence and time slip away.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) is in force and has replaced the old Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 173(1) says every information about a cognizable offence, irrespective of the area where the offence is committed, may be given orally or by electronic communication to the officer in charge of a police station. This single phrase codifies the Zero FIR, so jurisdiction is no longer a valid excuse to refuse you.

If you report orally, the officer must reduce it to writing, read it back to you, and take your signature. If you report by electronic communication, BNSS section 173(1) requires that you sign the information within three days for it to be taken on record. Under BNSS section 173(2), a copy of the recorded information must be given to the informant or the victim forthwith and free of cost.

For offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, BNSS section 173(3) lets the officer, with prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), conduct a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to check whether a case exists, or proceed straight to investigation. This is a limited filter for mid-grade offences, not a general licence to delay.

If the officer refuses to record your information, BNSS section 173(4) lets you send the substance of the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police concerned, who must investigate or order an investigation if a cognizable offence is disclosed. If that also fails, you can apply to a Magistrate. Under BNSS section 175(3), a Magistrate empowered under section 210 may, after considering your application supported by an affidavit under section 173(4) and hearing the police officer, order an investigation. The application to the SP is a mandatory step before approaching the Magistrate.

The Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v Government of Uttar Pradesh (2014) 2 SCC 1 held that registration of an FIR is mandatory when information discloses a cognizable offence, and that no preliminary enquiry is permissible to decide whether to register in such cases. BNSS section 173 now carries this principle into statute.

1. Go to the nearest or most convenient police station. You do not need to find the station where the crime happened.
2. Give the information about the cognizable offence orally to the officer in charge, or send it by electronic communication such as email.
3. Make sure the officer writes down the full information and reads it back to you exactly as you stated it.
4. Sign the written information. If you sent it electronically, sign the recorded copy within three days as section 173(1) requires.
5. Collect your free copy of the FIR at once under section 173(2). Note the FIR number, date, time, and station name.
6. If the officer refuses, get the refusal in writing if possible, then post the substance of your information to the Superintendent of Police under section 173(4).
7. If the SP does not act, apply to a Magistrate under section 175(3) with an affidavit and a copy of your application to the SP.

• A clear written or oral account of the incident: what happened, when, where, and who was involved.
• Your name, address, and contact number as the informant.
• Any identity proof you carry, such as Aadhaar or a voter ID (helpful but not a precondition to register).
• Names or descriptions of the accused and any witnesses, if known.
• Supporting material if available: photos, screenshots, medical papers, or bills.
• For an electronic complaint, the email or message you sent, so you can sign the record within three days.

• Believing a station can refuse on jurisdiction grounds. BNSS section 173(1) makes registration mandatory irrespective of the area.
• Leaving without the free copy. Section 173(2) entitles you to it forthwith and free of cost, so insist on it.
• Sending an electronic complaint and not signing the record within three days, which section 173(1) requires for it to be taken on record.
• Going straight to a Magistrate after a refusal. Section 175(3) read with section 173(4) makes the written application to the Superintendent of Police a mandatory first step.
• Confusing a Zero FIR with a regular FIR. A Zero FIR is later transferred to the station with jurisdiction, but your right to immediate registration is the same.
• Accepting an oral brush-off. Ask for the refusal in writing so you have a record for your section 173(4) escalation.

The FIR is given serial number zero because it is registered at a police station that does not have territorial jurisdiction over the crime. It is later renumbered and investigated by the station that does have jurisdiction.

No. BNSS section 173(1) requires every cognizable offence to be recorded irrespective of the area where the offence is committed. Refusal on jurisdiction grounds is not lawful.

No. BNSS section 173(2) says a copy of the recorded information must be given to the informant or victim forthwith and free of cost.

Yes. Section 173(1) allows information by electronic communication. It is taken on record only after you sign the recorded information within three days.

Send the substance of your information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police under section 173(4). If the SP does not act, apply to a Magistrate under section 175(3) with an affidavit.

For offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, section 173(3) lets the officer, with prior permission of an officer not below DSP rank, hold a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days to check if a case exists.

Yes. In Lalita Kumari v Government of Uttar Pradesh (2014) 2 SCC 1 the Supreme Court held registration is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence. BNSS section 173 now states this in law.

Yes. Section 173 has special provisions for victims of certain offences against women and for persons with disabilities, but the right to immediate, jurisdiction-free registration applies broadly to cognizable offences.

• BNSS section 173, bare act text: https://www.apnilaw.com/bare-act/bnss/section-173-bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhitabnss-information-in-cognizable-cases/
• BNSS section 175 and Magistrate-ordered investigation analysis: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/01/06/magistrate-ordered-investigation-section-175-3-bnss-analysis/
• Section 173(3) preliminary enquiry interpretation: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/01/17/section-173-3-bnss-statutory-interpretation-fir-registration/
• Zero FIR under BNSS overview: https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/to-the-point/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita-&-code-of-criminal-procedure/zero-fir-under-bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita-2023-bnss

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