Registration of FIR under CrPC after the commencement of BNSS is not a curable defect

Last Updated on October 9, 2024 by Shianjany Pradhan

The Karnataka H.C. has held that the police registering F.I.R. under the repealed CrPC when the BNSS was enforced on 1st July 2024 is incorrect.

The decision was given by a single-judge bench of Justice K Natarajan, a sitting judge of the Kalaburgi bench.

In this case, a petition was filed by Arun Kumar, who had sought the quashing of the F.I.R. that was registered against him under sections 376, 323, 506, and 420 of the IPC on 1 July 2024.

The petitioner had argued that even if the events quoted in the F.I.R. took place in June 2024, the F.I.R. was registered in July. Therefore, the BNSS would be applicable and not CrPC.

The police informed us that the F.I.R. was the first to be registered after the BNSS commenced; thus, the computer system could not register the FIR under the BNSS.

An error has occurred but cannot be grounds for quashing the FIR.

And also, the provision of the F.I.R. can be changed at the magistrate’s request.

Conclusion

The court said that the F.I.R. sets the law in motion. If the provisions are not registered under BNSS, then investigation cannot be allowed.

The F.I.R. was quashed as the court found that the case’s basic foundation was incorrect.