Police can use their discretion to decide whether to register an FIR for serious crimes like rape.

Courts have made clear that registering an FIR is mandatory when a cognizable offence is disclosed; refusing to do so for the offences listed in Section 166A is itself a crime.

Section 166A only punishes minor procedural mistakes by police.

It specifically targets deliberate ('knowing') violations that harm victims, particularly in cases of sexual violence, acid attacks, and trafficking, carrying a minimum six-month jail term.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 166A

repealed

Public Servant disobeying direction under Law

Whoever, being a public servant : knowingly disobeys any direction of the law which prohibits him from requiring the attendance at any place of any person for the purpose of investigation into an offence or any other, or knowingly disobeys, to the prejudice of any person, any other direction of the law regulating the manner in which he shall conduct such investigation, or fails to record any information given to him under sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in relation to cognizable offence punishable under section 326A, section 326B, section 354, section 354B, section 370, section 370A, section 376, section 376A, section 376AB, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D, section 376DA, section 376DB, section 376E or section 509, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.§

Why this exists

This section was added by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, when the Justice Verma Committee found that police often refused to register complaints of sexual violence or mishandled investigations. It was later expanded in 2018 to cover more sexual offences following public outrage over cases like the Kathua and Unnao incidents. The goal is to hold police personally accountable for ignoring legal duties that protect victims, especially women and children.

How courts read it

In Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh (2014), the Supreme Court held that registering an FIR under Section 154(1) of the CrPC is mandatory when information discloses a cognizable offence, and police have no discretion to refuse. Courts have treated Section 166A as the enforcement teeth behind that ruling — a police officer who ignores this duty for the listed offences can face criminal liability, not just departmental action.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Police can use their discretion to decide whether to register an FIR for serious crimes like rape.
Fact: Courts have made clear that registering an FIR is mandatory when a cognizable offence is disclosed; refusing to do so for the offences listed in Section 166A is itself a crime.
Myth: Section 166A only punishes minor procedural mistakes by police.
Fact: It specifically targets deliberate ('knowing') violations that harm victims, particularly in cases of sexual violence, acid attacks, and trafficking, carrying a minimum six-month jail term.