Section 154 set in motion a criminal complaint when an FIR is registered and the concerned Magistrate take notice of the same, as it is mandated on the Investigation Officer under Section 157 to report to the Jurisdiction Magistrate who is empowered to take cognizance of the same.
The word “Informant” is crucial in Section 154 because it relates to a person who is complaining to the Police. There is no restriction in Criminal Law that only an aggrieved person requires to file a Complaint with the Police, it could be anyone either an aggrieved victim or a person who has seen the commission of offence or even it could be the concerned Police itself. Hence the word “Informant” has no ambiguity over who could mantle the role of a Complainant.
Otherwise, Section 154 fixes responsibility over two persons; the Complainant and the Police. Though the provision does not fix onus directly on the Complainant [to report to the Police], however, since the Investigating Officer [IO] is representing the State and Law allows him to bring the suspects on his inquiry ambit during investigations, the Complainant in order to avoid any consequences over his hiding of offence’s reports to the Police owning moral and social responsibility so to discard himself from the angle of suspect and to avoid harassment. Even otherwise, Law does not protect any witnesses of the Crime should he not report the same to the Police immediately upon noticing it.
Whereas the onus of responsibility to receive and acknowledge the Complaint by the Police is intact under Section 154 Cr.P.C. When a Complaint was made to the Police orally the same should be reduced in writing under his direction [by any other person when the Complainant was illiterate or not in a state of mind to write]. Or, when a signed written Complaint was given to the Police, the Police [upon a brief inquiry on the Complaint] enters the substance in the diary kept for that purpose in accordance with Clause 1 of Section 154. While Clause 2 fixes responsibility on the Police to give the copy of the recorded Complaint to the informant.
Earlier, the Police used to issue an FIR upon receipt of a Complaint and now it issues a CSR [Community Service Register] at the first instance. Later, based on the outcomes of the investigations it either convert CSR into FIR or reject the Complaint for the reasons that it was factually erroneous. Otherwise, an FIR was registered instantly based on the gravity of offence commissioned on the victim, and if registered, the same should be reported to the Magistrate concerned who is empowered to take cognizance, within 24 hours of its registration. Provided the victim was a female, either the injuries caused on to her modesty and or she was sexually exploited and / or her age puts her under the Special Act as a child victim the Police then immediately registers an FIR and takes the Case to the Court. Since Section 154 without any ambiguity allows Police to be serious on those offences commissioned on Women.
[This portion of this Section 154 Cr.P.C. was inserted in the year 2013 – which makes it compulsory that any Complaint from a Woman victim on her modesty been outraged or she was raped then those information were to be received and recorded by a Woman Police Officer or any Woman Officer who is specially appointed for such purposes by the State. If the Complainant Victim was a physically or mentally disabled person, the Complaint must be recorded at her place or at the place of her choice in the presence of an interpreter or special educator and the entire proceedings should be videographed. Further the Investigation Officer must recorded the Statement of the Victim by a Magistrate to comply with Section 164 of Cr.P.C.]
The Clause 3 of Section 154 Cr.P.C. foresees a scenario, wherein, the Respondent Police refused to register a Complaint and what options does the Complainant have at his disposal. The Complainant upon the Respondent Police declined to take his Complaint may escalate the matter with the higher rank official in the Police. The Complainant can send substance of his Complaint in writing to an Official of a rank of Superintendent of Police. The SP has all the powers of the Respondent Police to take cognizance of offence and if he found prima facie commission of offence was taken place against the Complainant then he either on his own conduct investigations or direct any official to conduct investigation and register an FIR.
It must be taken into note Cr.P.C. identifies the rank of the higher Police Official as Superintendent of Police, however, this rank is now seen only in rural areas. Otherwise, the City Limit of the Police is filled with the rank next to Inspector of Police is Assistant Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Joint Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of Police. The City based Complainant could either send his Complaint directly to the Commissioner of Police and the same is then forwarded to local Police Limit and if the Complainant Victim raises his grievances either to Assistant Commissioner of Police or Deputy Commissioner of Police, he would get relief under Section 154 Cr.P.C.