When should regular FIR and Zero FIR be registered? Delhi High Court answers

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Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that "failure to register a regular FIR costs precious time that could be utilised in conducting the investigation and can also lead to the destruction of important evidence."

"The place of crime and jurisdiction of the police station becomes irrelevant when a cognizable offence is disclosed, and the police station is obligated to instantly transfer the pertinent documents over to the police station vested with the jurisdiction which numbers the FIR and begins the investigation."

The Court also explained the difference between a regular FIR and a Zero FIR,

"...the only difference between 'FIR' and 'Zero FIR' is that an FIR is registered where the incident has occurred within the jurisdiction of a particular Police Station, and a zero FIR can be lodged at any Police Station irrespective of where the incident has taken place."