DRAFTING, PLEADING AND CONVEYANCING

MODULE 3
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL PLEADINGS

DRAFTING OF COMPLAINTS/ FIR: Format of the F.I.R.

Book No. ___________

FORM NO. 24.5 (1)

FIRST INFORMATION REPORT

First Information of a Cognizable Crime Reported under Section 154, Criminal PenalCode

Police Station .................................... District .............................. No ..................

Date and hour of Occurrence .....................

1.Date and hour when reported

2.Name and residence of informer and complainant.

3.Brief description of offence (with section) and of property carried off, if any.

4.Place of occurence and distance and direction from the Police Station.

5.Name & Address of the Criminal.

6.Steps taken regarding investigation explanation of delay in regarding information.

7.Date and Time of despatch from Police Station.

Signature .......................

Designation ................................

(First information to be recorded below)

NOTE:- The signature of seal or thumb impression of the informer should be at the end of the
information and the signature of the Writer of (FIR) should be existed as usual.

The above is the format and below is the law on the basis of which the cognizable crime is recorded

F.I.R. ON AUTHENTIC INFORMATION

The information given to the Police Officer for registration of a case must be authentic. It should
not be gossip but should be traced to an individual who should be responsible for imparting
information. It may be hearsay but the person in possession of hearsay should mention the source of
information and take responsibility for it. An irresponsible rumour should not result in registration
of F.I.R.

APPLICATION FOR BAIL (SECTION 436 AND 437 OF CrPC):

Sample bail application under Section 436 CrPC

In the court of ……………

Criminal Case No. ……….of……(year)

State v ………(name of the accused)

Crime No………….. Offence u/s ……….

Police Station ……….

An application u/s 436 CrPC for release on personal bond

The applicant humbly submits as under :

1. That he was arrested by the police on ……… for the alleged offence.
 2. That the said offence is bailable.

3. That a bail application has moved before this Hon’ble court on……….and the applicant was
directed to produce surety of………..

4. That he is a poor person and cannot furnish the surety amount.

5. That as per the provisions of section 436 CrPC, a person who “is unable to give bail within a
week of the date of his arrest” must be presumed indigent and released “on his executing a
bond without sureties for his appearance.”
PRAYER

In view of the foregoing, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may kindly release
the applicant on personal bond on such terms and conditions as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit
and proper in the interest of justice.

Place: Applicant

Date: ThroughAdvocate/Superintendent ………prison

SECTION 437 OF CrPC:

Bail for non-Bailable offences:

The provisions of section 437 empower two authorities to consider the question of bail, namely (1)
a court and (2) an officer-in-charge of the police station who has arrested or detained without
warrant a person accused or suspected of the commission of a non-bailable offence. Although this
section deals with the power or discretion of a court as well as a police officer in charge of police
station to grant bail in non- bailable offences it has also laid down certain restrictions on the power
of a police officer to grant bail and certain rights of an accused person to obtain bail when he is
being tried by a Magistrate. Section 437, Criminal Procedure Code, deals with the powers of the
trial court and of the Magistrate to whom the offender is produced by the police or the accused
surrenders or appears, to grant or refuse bail to person accused of,or suspected of the commission of
any non-bailable offence.

The power to release on bail a person accused of a non-bailable offence is conferred upon only one
class of police officers, namely an officer-in-charge of the Police Station under section 437 sub
Section (I). Since the power to grant bail is permissive and not obligatory, it has to be exercised
with great caution because of the risk and stakes involved. Before exercising his power, a station
officer ought to satisfy himself that the release on bail would not prejudice the prosecution in
bringing home the guilt of the accused. In case the officer in charge admits an accused to bail, it is
mandatory for him to record the reasons or special reasons in the case diary and preserve the bail
bonds until they are discharged either by the appearance of the accused in court or by the order of a
competent court.

For the purpose of bail in non-bailable offence, the Legislature has classified them under two heads:

(1) those which are punishable with death or imprisonment for life; (2)those which are not so
punishable.

In case of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life a station officer cannot enlarge
a person on bail, if there appears reasonable grounds for believing that he has been guilty of such
offence. The age or sex or sickness or infirmity of the accused cannot be considered by a police
officer for the purpose of granting bail. These matters may be taken in view by a court only. An
officer- in-charge of the police station may grant bail only when there are no reasonable grounds for
believing that the accused has committed a non- bailable offence or when the non-bailable offence
complained of is not punishable with death or life imprisonment.

ACCUSED’S REPLY: PDF

CRIMINAL APPEAL (APPEAL AGAINST CONVICTION): Section 379 CrPC- Appeal against
conviction by High Court in certain cases

If a person’s acquittal by the high court is overturned and he is subsequently convicted and
sentenced to death, life in prison, or a term of imprisonment of 10 years or more, the accused may
appeal to the Supreme Court.

Important judgements:

Dhananjay Rai v. State of Bihar (2022)

The bench consisting of Abhay S. Oka and MM Sundresh, JJ., decided that an appeal against
conviction that was filed by an accused under Sub-Section (2) of Section 374 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, cannot be dismissed on the ground that the accused is absconding. This
decision was made in order to further the cause of criminal justice.

The accused was found guilty by the Sessions Court on September 4, 2009, and the charges against
him were brought under Sections 302 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Section
27(1) of the Arms Act of 1959. The accused person took their case to the High Court in Patna,
where they filed an appeal. After some time, it was determined that he had vanished. The appeal
against conviction was thrown out by a division bench of the Patna High Court on August 25, 2015,
for the sole reason that the accused had vanished without a trace, without any consideration being
given to the validity of the appeal. The High Court ruled that even though the right to appeal is
substantial, the appellant lost his right to do so the minute he misused the legal process by evading
capture. The appellant’s conduct here constitutes willful resistance to the criminal justice system.

But the Supreme Court did not agree with the High Court’s method when the High Court
acknowledged that it was departing from the established position of law.

The Court stated that the High Court’s distress about the appellant’s boldness in evading justice by
fleeing the jurisdiction is understandable. Non-prosecution is not a valid reason to ignore the merits
of a previously granted appeal of a conviction.
As a result, the Court reversed the challenged verdict and sent the case back to the High Court to be
heard again on its merits.

As the appeal is from 2009 and challenges a conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code,
the Court has stated that it should be given the utmost attention in being resolved. The Court ruled
that “if the appeal could not be heard within a reasonable time, in that situation, the appellant will
have to be allowed the liberty to seek suspension of sentence” and asked the High Court to consider
the appeal as soon as practicable, ideally within six months.

CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION (INCLUDING SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION): Previously done.