Introduction

Shedding light on Section 482 of Crpc If someday, in order to wrongly implicate any individual in a false criminal matter, someone knowingly, lodges a FIR against any individual, what are the remedies available? How will that individual prove himself/herself innocent while taking a legal action against such a person?

In many Instances a person, in order to take some kind of revenge or to destroy their business rivals, falsely implicate someone in a false case and lodge a false FIR against that person. Getting framed in a criminal case and putting up with subsequent police proceedings and interrogation, is the worst nightmare for any innocent person. Registrations of False FIRs against innocents is rising in an alarming rate, in such case, to safeguard themselves against such practices, it becomes imperative for everyone to know their legal rights and procedure of invoking the remedies provided under law.

The Law behind Registration of FIRs

First Information Report (FIR) is a written document prepared by the police in order to initiate criminal proceedings against the alleged Guilty. The thing to be noted here is that the FIR can only be registered for ''Cognizable Offences''. In case of Cognizable offences, the police have right to arrest without Warrant. Murder, Rape, Theft, attack, etc all these crimes fall under the ambit of ''cognizable offences''. In case of non-cognizable offences, such as defamation or bigamy, the police cannot register an FIR, hence, cannot arrest without Warrant or they will register an NCR. Since, anyone who knows about the commission of a Cognizable offence can file an FIR and since, this right can easily be exploited at the hands of some criminal-minded people, there are some legal provisions that can be invoked for quashing of false criminal proceedings if someone files a False FIR against you.

Remedies available for individual against false criminal proceedings

Code of criminal proceedings 1973 (CrPC) laid out some provisions for quashing of criminal proceedings. One such provision is section 482 of CrPC.

What is Section 482 of CrPC and how it can be invoked to fight a false FIR lodged against you?

Section 482 of CrPC explains the inherent powers of the High Court.

1. Section 482 of the code specifies that a High Court has got the power to act in any manner in order to make the two ends of justice meet.

2. Under this section, a High Court can quash an FIR if it thinks that the FIR which has been lodged is a false one and was done with the sole motive to defame and trouble the aggrieved person.

3. If any person has been implicated and accused of a non-compoundable offence then he can approach a High Court and file a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution read with Section 482 of CrPC.

4. The burden of proof is on the petitioner to prove that the FIR has been lodged only for malicious reasons and to trouble the petitioner.

So, if a false FIR has been lodged against a person, then under section 482 of CrPC, the person can approach The High Court by filing an application for the quashing of the false FIR and The High Court, if convinced that the FIR has been falsely implicated, can use its Inherent power under Section 482 Crpc to quash the FIR and set the alleged person free if he has been arrested.

What if someone fail to prove criminal case against you?

Under section 182 and 211 of IPC, a person who files a false FIR against someone can be held guilty. The sentence for such an act is-

Imprisonment which may expand up to 6 months or Fine or penalty which could possibly extend to one thousand rupees, Or both.

Can we file a complaint against person who has filed false Criminal case against me?

Yes, one can file a complaint against the person who has filed false criminal case against him/her. Below the option available before him/her:

1. By invoking section 211 of the Indian penal code, file a complaint against a malicious prosecution.

2. By invoking Section 182 of Indian penal code file a complaint for knowingly giving false information to the police and for intending to use powers against an innocent person.

3. File a complaint against concerned police officials for misusing their powers. This kind of complaint can be filed before State Human Rights Commission.

4. File a Civil Suit against the complainant and the police and ask for the compensations.

To conclude, A law is made to protect people, but there are some sick minded people who, in order to get some money or fame, uses laws to blackmail innocent people. For this reason, the lawmakers have made certain laws that protects innocents against the misuse of these laws.