The Law Commission of India, in Report No. 282, recommended that “in cases where the accused is not known, registration of an e-FIR should be allowed for all cognisable offences”. If the accused is known, as a preliminary step, registration of an e-FIR may be allowed for cognisable offences wherein the punishment provided under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other laws is up to three years.
The verification of the complainant, the Commission said, could be done by verifying the mobile number through an OTP and mandating the uploading of valid ID proof such as Aadhaar. It also said that the name of the suspect on the centralised national portal is to be secured until the e-FIR is signed by the complainant. Further, in case the registered information is not signed by the informant deliberately within the prescribed time, the information shall be deleted within two weeks.
