Examine the ethical and legal obligations of police in registering an FIR for a cognizable offence, referencing relevant Supreme Court judgments.

The First Information Report is the entry point of the criminal justice system; its denial extinguishes a victim's remedy at the threshold. The law therefore treats registration as a duty, not a discretion — a position that recent instances of alleged refusal on "orders from the top" bring back into focus.

Legal obligations

• Statutory mandate: Section 173, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (replacing Section 154 CrPC) requires the officer in charge to record every information disclosing a cognizable offence, permits e-FIR and Zero FIR irrespective of territorial jurisdiction, and confines preliminary enquiry to a narrow, time-bound class of offences [1].
• Judicial command: In Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P. (2014), a Constitution Bench held registration mandatory where information discloses a cognizable offence, leaving the officer no discretion to first test its genuineness [2].
• Penal consequence: Non-registration invites prosecution of the officer plus departmental action; the MHA's advisory on compulsory FIR registration directs States accordingly [3].
• Constitutional anchor: Refusal defeats the right to peaceful assembly and protest under Article 19(1)(b) by shielding excessive force, and offends equality before law.

Ethical obligations

• Accountability to law, not to political masters — the core principle of Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), which created the State Security Commission as a buffer against political interference [4].
• Impartiality and non-discrimination: identical treatment regardless of the complainant's or accused's political weight.
• Empathy and victim-centricity: prompt recording where injuries are grave, since delay destroys evidence.
• Objectivity over self-protection: the 2nd ARC's report on Public Order stresses insulating investigation from extraneous direction to rebuild public trust [5].

Registration of an FIR is thus a fused legal-ethical duty: the statute commands it, the Constitution underpins it, and professional integrity sustains it. Completing Prakash Singh compliance, separating investigation from law-and-order duties, and auditing refusals through digital FIR trails would convert this duty from a contested favour into an assured entitlement of every citizen.