The Case That Never Got Written

Umma Habiba: Imagine a woman at a police station counter a little after nine at night. Her shop has been broken into. Her daughter has been threatened or her brother has been beaten by neighbors with a name she knows well. She has come to file a case. The officer on duty looks up sighs and tells her to come tomorrow or to settle it locally or that “there is not enough to register a case.” She leaves with nothing. No paper bears her name, no number. As far as the state is concerned nothing has happened.

Many Bangladeshi families know this situation. Courts have repeatedly dealt with complaints that police refused to register a case, including ones such as rape. Yet the law is clear: a complaint that is not written down is a right that has not yet been used.

What the law says. Under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 when information about an offence is given to the officer in charge of a police station it must be written down. If it is given orally the officer must reduce it to writing. Read it over to the informant. The informant signs it. Its substance is entered in a book kept for that purpose. This entry is the First Information Report or FIR. Cognizable offences are the serious ones, such as murder, rape, robbery and grievous hurt, where police may arrest without a warrant and begin investigating on their own. The Code does not give the officer a discretion to decide whether the story is convincing. Testing the truth of the complaint is the job of the investigation that follows, not of the counter that comes before it.

Why the first page matters. The FIR starts everything. Under Sections 156 and 157 the police can. They must report to a magistrate. Evidence is gathered witnesses are. The case moves, in time toward a final report under Section 173. If no FIR is recorded the whole process has no start. Time also works against the complainant: injuries heal witnesses are. Memories blur. A refusal at the counter can quietly decide the outcome of a case before it even exists.

What to do when police refuse. The law gives ways and a family does not have to give up after one “no.”

First ask politely but clearly that the information be recorded under Section 154 and ask for the diary or case number. If the complaint is in writing ask for a signed and stamped receiving copy. Note the date, time and the name or rank of the officer who refused.

Second approach an officer, such as the Superintendent of Police or the Deputy Commissioner in a metropolitan area with the same written complaint.

Third go to the court. A complainant may file a complaint petition directly before the Magistrate, who can take cognizance under Section 190 and examine the complainant under Section 200. Where the facts show an offence the court can direct the police to register and investigate it. District legal aid offices, set up under the Legal Aid Services Act, 2000 can help those who cannot afford a lawyer. A woman in Rangamati used this route in 2022, when a court took her case after the local police station refused it.

Fourth the High Court Division can be approached under Article 102 of the Constitution. The Court has in the past directed police to record complaints as FIRs and to accept rape complaints without discrimination.

Is there a penalty for refusing? The Code itself does not prescribe a punishment for an officer who will not record an FIR. But a public servant who knowingly disobeys the law intending to harm another person can face action under Section 166 of the Penal Code and departmental discipline is also possible. In practice however the strongest remedy remains a magistrate’s order. For families that is a long road and the delay itself can be a hardship.

Where the real change must come from. A refusal to record a case is rarely about an officer. Pressure from parties a wish to keep crime figures low fear of an inconvenient accused person and plain indifference all play a part. Training, supervision and public accountability have to deal with these causes. Technology could help too: a numbered receipt, issued every time someone files a complaint would make it much harder for a case to disappear without a trace.

A woman, at a police counter cannot be expected to recite section numbers.. If she knows that the law requires her words to be written down and that a magistrate stands behind that requirement the phrase “come tomorrow” will carry less weight. A case that gets written has a chance. A case that never gets written has none.