CJI-led Bench affirms right of accused to receive copy of FIR promptly

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, reaffirmed that an accused person cannot be arbitrarily denied a copy of the First Information Report (FIR). The court issued specific directives to police authorities to provide the FIR copy along with necessary digital evidence like CCTV footage in a time-bound manner.

Under Indian criminal jurisprudence, an FIR registered under Section 154 of the CrPC (now Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) is a vital public document. The landmark Supreme Court judgment in Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India (2016) had previously ruled that FIR copies must be uploaded online within 24 hours to safeguard personal liberty.

The Supreme Court observed that withholding FIR copies deprives the accused of their fundamental right to seek legal remedies, such as anticipatory bail or quashing of frivolous proceedings under Section 482 of CrPC / Section 528 of BNSS. The bench ordered strict compliance reports from state police commissioners to enforce transparency.

This ruling is essential for constitutional law and criminal procedure topics. Exam aspirants should understand fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 20 and Article 22, landmark procedural cases, and recent criminal law reforms (BNSS provisions) frequently asked in UPSC, Judiciary, and SSC CGL examinations.