81. It is an undisputed position of law that the FIR is a public document defined under Section 74 of the Evidence Act. Various High Courts have expressed this view from time to time.
Supreme Court
a) In the case of Channappa Andanappa Siddareddy and others v. State 1980 Crl LJ 1022, the Karnataka High Court held as follows:
“3. The F. I. R. being a record of the acts of the public officers prepared in discharge of the official duty is a public document as defined under Section 74 of the Evidence Act. Under Section 76 of the Evidence Act, every public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, is bound to give such person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefore.”
b) The Single Bench of Gujrat High Court, in the case of Jayantibhai Lalubhai Patel vs. State of Gujrat 1992 CRl LJ 2377, concluded as follows:
“10. From the aforesaid discussions, it clearly appears that whenever FIR is registered against the accused, a copy of it is forwarded to the Court under provisions of the Code. Thus it becomes a public document. Considering (1) the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, (2) First Information Report is a public document in view of Section 74 of the Evidence Act.”
c) In the case of Shyam Lal vs State of U.P. And Ors 1998 Crl LJ 2879, the Division Bench of Allahabad High Court followed the same view.
d) The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, while dealing with a public interest litigation being Court on its Own Motion through Mr. Ajay Chaudhary vs. State 2011 CrlLJ 1347, discussed pronouncements of various High Courts and held that there can be no trace of doubt that FIR is a public document as defined under Section 74 of the Evidence Act.
e) Recently, a Single Bench of Chhattisgarh High Court took similar view in the case of Narendra Rajput vs. State of Chhattisgarh through Secretary, Department of Home Affairs (Police) and Others 2019 SCC Online Chh 16.
82. This Court endorses the above view and holds that FIR is a public document defined under Section 74 of the Evidence Act.
Harendra Rai V. State of Bihar, Criminal Appeal No.1726 of 2015