Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Feb 23: A lot of buzz was created over the registration of the first e-FIR or electronic FIR in Jammu and Kashmir in Handwara town of Kupwara District on February 22.
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In this particular case, the complainant had approached the police through WhatsApp-an electronic facility-alleging he was wrongfully restrained and physically assaulted by two individuals while traveling to Srinagar District.
However, far more surprising than the use of this facility (e-FIR) for the first time in the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir was the lack of its use so far, despite the fact that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the law that allows individuals to file e-FIR and Zero FIR after replacing the colonial Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), was notified in the Gazette of India on December 25, 2023, and came into effect on July 1, 2024-around eight months before the registration of the first crime through the e-facility in February 2025.
While a Zero FIR is a procedural tool that empowers citizens to report a crime both through offline and online modes, regardless of where the crime was committed or the jurisdiction of the police station, an e-FIR is a facility that allows a crime to be reported only through electronic means such as email, WhatsApp, or government grievance portals.
Both of these facilities were introduced primarily for women victims of heinous crimes, who otherwise hesitate to narrate their ordeal to police officers in person at police stations.
However, an e-FIR also requires a victim to sign his or her complaint physically within three days of reporting the crime using electronic facilities. But since it does not require them to personally visit the police stations and narrate their suffering directly to police officers, this facility has made it easier, particularly for women, to report crimes in a time-bound manner without difficulties.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that people are using the e-facility to report crimes in the Jammu region but do not visit police stations to fulfill other procedural requirements for lodging e-FIRs, such as signing their complaints offline within three days of reporting the crime.
When asked why Zero FIRs are being registered but not e-FIRs when the procedure to file both is nearly the same, he had no answer.
Another police officer said that things are gradually changing in Jammu and Kashmir, with people gaining an understanding of different laws and the provisions under them to report crimes in a hassle-free and time-bound manner.
He said, “We’ve been leaving no stone unturned to generate awareness about such laws and provisions by organizing workshops, seminars, nukkad nataks, and TV and radio commercials. But it takes time to see the impact of such initiatives.”
A senior advocate of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, who also practices in the Apex Court, however, completely disagreed with the police officers.
He believes both the police and civil administration have miserably failed in creating proper awareness about such laws and provisions.
According to him, most police officers who deal with complaints regularly are themselves unaware of the new provisions notified under the BNSS, as they have never been informed about them.
“As far as creating awareness among the public is concerned, it is also the job of the civil administration and police. But they have miserably failed to perform their job,” he said.
He also blamed Jammu and Kashmir Police for not having any dedicated digital application or website to report such crimes.
The HC lawyer also attributed complex procedures, such as the requirement to visit police stations within three days after lodging e-complaints, as reasons why most women victims avoid using this facility.
“They still prefer that their complaints be lodged through advocates only,” he said.
When asked whether advocates have complete knowledge of the new facilities, he said, “No, even this fraternity lacks a proper understanding of the new laws and provisions due to a lack of awareness and limited efforts from the government to generate this awareness.”
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