When an FIR Is Filed in a Police Station Without Territorial Jurisdiction, Where Must It Go for Investigation?

A common situation in Indian criminal procedure is this: an informant walks into a police station to report a cognizable offence, only to be told that the offence was committed outside that station's territorial limits — sometimes in an entirely different district or State. The question that naturally follows is: where should the FIR be transferred for investigation if the police station where it was lodged has no territorial jurisdiction over the offence?

The answer, settled by consistent judicial pronouncements, is that the FIR must be forwarded to the police station having territorial jurisdiction over the area in which the crime was committed — but only after the officer who received it has recorded the FIR and, where appropriate, proceeded with the investigation.

The Duty to Record the FIR Despite Lack of Jurisdiction

A police officer cannot refuse to register an FIR simply because the offence, on the face of the complaint, appears to have been committed elsewhere. The Station House Officer has statutory authority under Section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate any cognizable case for which an FIR is lodged 2023 0 Supreme(HP) 441. There is no absolute prohibition against an Officer in charge of a Police Station investigating or enquiring into an offence committed beyond his local territorial jurisdiction once he has recorded the information and registered the FIR 2025 0 Supreme(HP) 719.

This principle is reinforced by the savings clause in Section 156(2) of the Cr.P.C., which provides that no proceeding of a police officer shall at any stage be called in question on the ground that the officer was not empowered to investigate. In other words, an investigation commenced bona fide is not vitiated merely because of a jurisdictional defect.

No Judicial Interference at the Investigation Stage

Courts have repeatedly held that the validity of an investigation cannot be challenged mid-way on jurisdictional grounds. At the stage of investigation, there is no question of interference under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the ground that the investigating officer has no territorial jurisdiction 2023 0 Supreme(HP) 441. Similarly, an FIR disclosing a cognizable offence cannot be quashed merely because the police station had no jurisdiction 2023 0 Supreme(Gau) 1473, and courts will not examine the correctness of allegations while an investigation is in progress

Biswajit Pattnaik VS State of Odisha

The rationale is practical: whether any part of the offence actually occurred within a station's limits is often a question of fact that can only be determined after investigation, not before it 2024 0 Supreme(Ker) 99.

The Transfer Procedure After Investigation

Once the investigation is complete and the investigating officer concludes that the cause of action for the FIR did not arise within his territorial jurisdiction, the law prescribes a clear course:

• Submit a report under Section 170 of the Cr.P.C. and forward the accused, if there is sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of suspicion, to a Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence upon a police report 2023 0 Supreme(HP) 441.
• If the officer concludes the crime was not committed within the station's limits, forward the FIR to the police station having jurisdiction over the area in which the crime was committed 2023 0 Supreme(HP) 441 and 2022 0 Supreme(Gau) 1008.

State police rules operationalise this step. Under the Rajasthan Police Rules of 1965, if an officer who has registered a case and commenced investigation discovers that the offence was committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, he shall at once send information to the officer in charge of that police station — and the rules do not contemplate filing a negative final report merely on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction 2018 0 Supreme(Raj) 532. Various States have formulated similar rules for effecting such transfers 2022 0 Supreme(Gau) 1008, and where a dispute persists, courts may direct transfer of the investigation to the station having territorial jurisdiction 2008 4 Supreme 410.

Practically, this is the mechanism behind what is popularly known as the Zero FIR — an FIR registered at any police station, irrespective of where the offence occurred, which is then transmitted to the jurisdictional station 2014 0 Supreme(All) 3207.

What the Officer Must Not Do

The jurisprudence is equally clear about impermissible shortcuts:

• The officer should not refuse to register the FIR or decline to investigate solely on jurisdictional grounds.
• The officer should not file a negative final report merely because the offence appears to have been committed elsewhere 2018 0 Supreme(Raj) 532.
• A second FIR on the same incident and same facts is not permissible, and a fresh investigation based on a successive FIR is unwarranted; the correct route, if further investigation is needed, is to seek permission for further investigation under Section 173(8) of the Cr.P.C. in the original case 2001 5 Supreme 131.

Jurisdiction of the Trial Court Remains Distinct

It is important to distinguish police investigation jurisdiction from trial jurisdiction. Under Section 177 of the Cr.P.C., an offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. Thus, even where an investigation proceeds in one place, the trial venue remains governed by the ordinary rules of territorial jurisdiction of courts — including provisions like Sections 178(d) and 179, which permit trial where any part of the offence was committed 2014 0 Supreme(Cal) 440. Where a charge-sheet is presented before a Magistrate lacking territorial jurisdiction, the court may return the report to the SHO for presentation before the appropriate court, treating the defect as curable

Rajendra Panwar S/o Vishnu Prasad VS State of Madhya Pradesh

Key Takeaways

• The FIR must be recorded at whichever police station it is lodged, regardless of where the offence was committed.
• Investigation may lawfully proceed despite a jurisdictional objection; Section 156(2) protects bona fide proceedings.
• After investigation, if no territorial jurisdiction is found, the FIR is to be forwarded — not rejected — to the police station having jurisdiction over the area where the crime was committed.
• Courts will generally not quash an FIR or halt an investigation at the investigation stage on jurisdictional grounds alone.
• Transfer of the FIR to the concerned police station is a recognised, rule-based procedure, commonly operationalised through the Zero FIR mechanism.

This article reflects general information on settled procedural principles and should not be treated as advice on any specific case; outcomes can vary with the facts and the governing State rules.