COMPLAINT TO THE POLICE
To: The Officer in Charge, Police Station __________
Date: __________
From: __________, __________, aged __________, of __________, telephone __________
Subject: Complaint about __________: information of an offence, for recording as a first information report
Sir or Madam,
- 1. What this complaint is about. This complaint is about __________. I do not name the sections of law that apply: I ask the officer to apply the sections that the facts disclose.
- 2. The persons complained against. The persons I complain against are __________. I refer to them together as the accused.
- 3. What happened. On or about __________, __________
- 4. The loss or harm to me. The loss or harm caused to me is __________.
- 5. Witnesses and evidence. I hold the following evidence and will hand it to the investigating officer: __________.
- 6. Steps taken so far. __________.
- 7. My request. Please record this information as a first information report under section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, give me a copy of it free of cost under section 173(2), investigate the offence, record the statements of the witnesses named above, and secure the records and articles listed in paragraph 5 before they are lost. If the facts disclose only an offence for which the police cannot register a first information report without an order, I ask that the information be entered in the station's register and that I be told in writing what further step is open to me. __________
- 8. If it is not recorded. If the information is not recorded, I will send its substance in writing by post to the Superintendent of Police under section 173(4) of that Sanhita, and if that too brings no action, I will apply to the Magistrate, who may order an investigation under section 175(3) after considering my application, supported by affidavit, and the submission of the officer in charge.
- 9. Other proceedings, and the truth of this account. What I have stated is true to my own knowledge, except where I say I was told it, and I have left out nothing I know about the matter.
LEGAL BASIS
Punjab: The information is received by the officer in charge of a police station under section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, orally or electronically and wherever the offence happened; electronic information is signed within three days, and a copy goes to the informant free of cost under section 173(2). Against a refusal to record it, the route is a written complaint by post to the Superintendent of Police under section 173(4), and then an application supported by affidavit to the court of a Magistrate empowered under section 210, which may order investigation under section 175(3). The Sanhita has been in force since 1 July 2024. A police complaint decides no civil right: a claim for money or property is still for the civil court.
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is central law and applies in the Union Territory in the same terms from 1 July 2024. The officer in charge of the police station receives and records the information under section 173(1) and gives a free copy under section 173(2). Against a refusal to record it, the route is a written complaint by post to the Superintendent of Police under section 173(4), and then an application supported by affidavit to the court of a Magistrate at Chandigarh empowered under section 210, which may order investigation under section 175(3). A police complaint decides no civil right, which remains for the civil court at Chandigarh.
PERSONAL DATA NOTICE
This notice is given under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
The purpose of collecting the personal data in this document is to identify the complainant, the persons complained against and the witnesses, and to record the incident, so that the police can record the information and investigate it.
The record will be held by __________ and may be shared with the complainant, the police station and its investigating officer, the Superintendent of Police, the Magistrate and any court that tries the offence, and the complainant's advocate.
If the matter does not proceed, the personal data will be retained for 90 days and then erased. If the matter proceeds, the record will be retained for the transaction or authority matter plus 12 months, except where a statute requires a longer named retention period.
A person named in this document may request correction or erasure where the purpose has ended, withdraw consent for future consent-based processing, or raise a grievance by writing to __________. The record-holder should acknowledge and reply within 30 days.
Data minimisation: this document does not collect a full Aadhaar number, an Aadhaar-card copy, a password or bank credentials.
Personal-data instruction: __________.
SIGNATURE
______________________________
Signature
Complainant: __________
Place: ____________________
Date: ____________________