ALIMONY IN INDIA

Marriages are made in heaven but not all. Separation a difficult word that puts a full stop to a relationship that was tied for a lifetime. The Indian constitution has made it required for a couple to remain together at least for a year after marriage under before seeking the court's assistance for getting separated. Additionally subsequent to filling the demand of separation in the court a couple is requested to remain together for six months to give their marriage another shot of survival . If somehow, both of the factors doesn’t convince the couple to change their decision the court initiates the process of divorce. Divorce cases can be broadly divided into two classifications:

1.      Mutual divorce- One where the two accomplices acknowledge they can't get along any longer and choose to get separate by mutual consent. This type of case gets over in couple of months. In this case the couple, with their legal advisors, can sit over the table and settle on alimony and child support. Divorce Alimony/maintenance could be paid by either the husband to the wife or by the wife to the husband, it depends on the subject to the mutual understanding between both the husband and the wife. An agreement is drawn and presented in a court. Once both parties agree upon the terms and conditions in front of a judge, they are granted divorce without any hassle.

2.      Contested divorce- These are the cases where one of the partners between the two approaches the court for a divorce, citing grounds such as cruelty or adultery. Such cases are not good but bitter and become a conflict about finances like money and property. These are unpredictable cases and includes individual laws administering marriages that shift by religion and furthermore criminal laws under which a man can look for separation and divorce alimony. They can take a minimum of two years to resolve and can go on for more than a decade if the parties are not satisfied with lower court orders and want to contest it in higher courts.

The rate of separation is expanding in India at a very fast speed and people are becoming aware of the various details related to divorce laws. The time of women's activist battles and spread of training among ladies, have added to the developing appropriateness of alimony in divorce cases. A standout amongst the most important rights under separation and marital laws is the privilege to get and claim divorce alimony (maintenance). Alimony is a monetary compensation granted to the spouse who is unable to support himself/herself or who is financially weaker by the other stronger partner in order to maintain his/her standard of living same as before separation, during or after the divorce proceedings. The term 'alimony' has its origin in the Latin word 'Alimonia', meaning sustenance. The alimony or maintenance is a commitment by laws in almost all of the nations of the world. It is normal that both the life partners regardless of sexual orientation must bear the alimony or maintenance during and after marriage.

THE LAWS OF ALIMONY IN INDIA

1.         Maintenance under section 125 Cr.P.C- wife can file maintenance case and court resulting to thought over the pay, assets and other property of wife and husband will allow month to month compensation. Anyone can apply for this section for maintenance irrespective of religion or rank. Application for interim relief should be filled, with the goal that interim relief can be granted. Court may relying on the actualities of case, grant interim maintenance also.

2.         Domestic violence act, 2005- for help and o live at matrimonial house (father-in laws home), you can likewise proclaim for return of all things given to you amid marriage and furthermore for remuneration and damages for the mental cruelity endured by you and court has capacity to choose one assurance officer, who will keep check and report court during your stay at father in laws home. This law applies to all regardless of religion or caste.

Maintenance is governed by separate act for each religion. Our society consists of five major communities: Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews.

·         The Hindu marriage act 1955 applies to all marriages Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikhs.

·         Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, and the amended Indian Divorce Act applies to Christians.

·         The Marriage and Divorce Act for Parsis is applicable on Parsi marriages.

·         The hariat Law and the Dissolution of Muslim Act, 1937, apply to all Muslim marriages. Each community has its own personal laws derived from religious scriptures, customs and traditions. Thus, the grounds on which a Hindu can seek divorce and alimony may not be the same for every community.

The variables that the court contemplates for permanent alimony/maintenance for both husband and wife is as follows-

1.      The status of the both husband and wife- their income/salary, their properties and way of life

The position and status have reference more to the money related than to the social position. Income and money related status are the most critical variables while landing at a justified amount to be granted as alimony.

2.      The reasonable wants of the spouse

Need isn't bound to what is required for keeping the inquirer spouse alive and accommodating with basic necessity as it were. At the point when a minor child is living with the mother, the necessities of the child are additionally considered. Much accentuation is given on the reliefs appealed by the spouse by thinking about the status and station in life of the parties, the term of the marriage, support and education of the child, the capacity of the companion to earn and their future prospects, as likewise their age, wellbeing, liabilities, liabilities of the spouse and the sensible needs of the wife.

3.      The spouses own income

The court won't just consider the situation of the husband but in addition the position and circumstance of the wife. In case the wife working and drawing a good salary, the Court will surely mull over that alongside the husband's wage and afterward relying upon the realities and conditions of the case choose whether alimony is to be granted to the wife and if yes, at that point the amount she will get from the husband.

4.      In case where the claimant is living separately, whether the claimant is justified in doing so,

5.      The estimation of the petitioner's property and any pay got from such property, or from the petitioner's own income or from some other source.

TYPES OF ALIMONY

As per the Indian law, alimony is for the most part of two kinds:

1.      The one which is paid at the time of the courts procedure it is known as the maintenance amount.

2.      The other is paid after separation the last one can be paid as a single amount sum at the time of seperation or a settled portion in settled term.

THE ENTITLEMENT

All the more regularly it is the female accomplice who is qualified for the divorce settlement. Be that as it may, there are times when the male accomplice is observed to be bothered and the court passes the Judgment that the spouse would compensate his losses. There are a couple of situations where the law has been exceptionally stringent and has constrained the male accomplice to pay the divorce settlement when he doesn't have any pay source while the spouse capacities at an extremely lucrative activity. Likewise, the court may request that he restore the Stree-dhan, which is the wealth got at the time of marriage from her parents and the in-laws.

HOW MUCH ALIMONY ONE HAS TO PAY

The court chooses the genuine amount to be paid as alimony. The sum is computed to keep in view numerous parameters like the salary of the accomplices, societal status, the way of life, the number of kids, the number of years spent together and the attachment. There isn't any settled way to figure the measure of alimony however for the most part, it is the 1/3 or the 1/5 part of the pay of the paying spouse.

WHO ENDS UP PAYING THE ALIMONY?

1.      Wife

·         When wife is earning- If the husband has high pay and a regarded monetary status then the wife is qualified for alimony.

·         When wife is not earning- A divorce settlement sum is to be paid by the husband to guarantee that the wife is keeping up a similar way of life like his.

·         When she remarries- The alimony stands invalid and the husband needs to pay for the kids assuming any.

2.      Husband gets alimony

·         If the husband is not be able to earn due to some reason or is disabled, the court may ask the wife to pay the alimony/maintenance to her husband.

ALIMONY UNDER HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955

In Hindus, laws with respect to divorce settlement are governed by personal and also central act. The articulation utilized as a part of the opening of Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 empowers the provisions of alimony or maintenance. This provisions can't be limited only to decree of judicial separation under Section 10 or divorce under Section 13. It incorporates inside the articulation all kinds of decrees such as restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9, legal partition under Section 10, proclaiming marriage as invalid and void under Section 11, cancellation of marriage as voidable under Section 12 and separation under Section 13.

Any court practicing its purview may, on application made by either the spouse can order either the husband or the wife as the case may be, to pay to the candidate for her or his maintenance such gross aggregate or such month to month or periodical total for a term not exceeding the life of the candidate

The things which court remember while choosing the quantum for support are-

·         Income of the party against whom alimony has been claimed,

·         Property of the parties against whom provision has been asserted,

·         The pay and other property of the candidate,

·         The direct of the parties and different conditions of the case.

If the court is fulfilled that there is an adjustment in the conditions of either party whenever after the quantum of divorce settlement has been fixed by the court. The court may, at the occasion of either party, change, adjust or cancel any such order in such way as the court may deem just. If the court is fulfilled that the parties in whose support an order has been made under this section has remarried or where the spouse has had sexual intercourse with any lady outside wedlock may adjust the quantum of alimony.

Right of alimony for woman according to the arrangements of Hindu Adoption And Maintenance Act, 1956- A Hindu spouse will be qualified to live independently from her better half without relinquishing her claim to maintenance and alimony will be allowed to her on the accompanying ground-

·         If the husband is blameworthy of desertation, in other words, of abandoning her without sensible reason and without her assent or against her desire, or neglecting  her;

·         If the husband has treated her with so much cruelty as to cause a sensible dread in her mind that it will be hurtful or damaging to live with her husband;

·         If the husband is experiencing a harmful type of disease;

·         If the husband has some other wife living;

·         if the husband keeps a mistress in a similar house in which his wife is living or routinely lives with a courtesan somewhere else;

·         if the husband has stopped to be a Hindu by transformation to another religion;

·         If there is some other reason legitimizing her living independently.

A Hindu wife won't be fit the bill for independent home and maintenance from her better half if she is unchaste or stops to be a Hindu by changing her religion into some different religion.

ALIMONY UNDER MUSLIM LAW

The initial step is to choose whether the maintenance will be according to Section 125 Code of Criminal Procedure or according to the arrangement of Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, 1986. Arrangement of area 125 CrPc is managed above in detail.

1.      Muslim woman reserves the following rights after getting divorced by their husband-

·         A sensible and reasonable provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period by her previous spouse.

·         A sum equivalent to the entirety of mahr or dower consented to be paid to her at the time of her marriage or later as indicated by Muslim law.

·         A title to every one of the properties given to her previously or at the time of marriage or after her marriage by her relatives or companions or the spouse or any relatives of the husband or his companions.

2.      Does a Muslim woman has some other lawful alternative accessible when her better half declines to pay her the support-

·         At the point when a divorced Muslim lady has not re-wedded and can't keep up herself after the iddat period, she may make a request coordinating such of her relatives as would be qualified to acquire her property on her death as per Muslim law to pay such sensible and reasonable maintenance to her

·         Where such divorced woman has a child, obligation is of the children to pay maintenance to her, and in case of any such child being not able pay such maintenance, obligation lies on the guardians of such women to pay maintenace to her.

·         For the situation where there is nobody to keep up the spouse at that point, State Wakf Board built up under section 9 of the Wakf Act, working in the territory in which the woman lives, is compelled by a sense of honor to pay such support as controlled by the court

3.      What to do when your better half declines to maintain you after separation-Where a sensible and reasonable arrangement and maintenance or mahr due has not been made or paid or the properties given to the wife before or at the time of marriage or after her marriage by her relatives or friends or the husband or any relatives of the husband or his friends have not been delivered to a divorced woman on her divorce then she has the following rights available.

·         She or anybody appropriately approved by her may, on her sake, make an application to a Magistrate for a request for payment of such arrangement and maintenance, mahr or dower or the delivery of properties.

·         The following is looked by the Magistrate while deciding such cases

a)      Whether the husband having sufficient means, has failed or neglected to make or pay her within the iddat period a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance for her and the children or not?

b)      The amount equal to the sum of mahr or dower has not been paid or that the properties given to her before or at the time of marriage or after her marriage by her relatives or friends or the husband or any relatives of the husband or his friends have not been delivered to her,

4.      Merits on which quantum of alimony is decided under Muslim Divorce and maintenance laws-

·         The needs of the divorced woman,

·         The standard of life relished by her during her marriage and

·         The methods for  such relatives and such maintenance shall be payable by such relatives in the proportions in which they would inherit her property.

ALIMONY UNDER CHRISTIAN LAW

Section 36 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1969 administers the course of action of provision for Christians in India. Under Section 36, a lady can guarantee her qualification to divorce settlement and the spouse will be fit the bill for paying the alimony, if coordinated by the Court. Section 36 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1969 read as follows:

·         In any suit under this Act, regardless of whether it be initiated by a husband or a wife, and regardless of whether she has obtained an order of protection, the wife may introduce an appeal for costs of the procedures and provision pending the suit.

·          Such petition will be served on the husband; and the Court, on being satisfied with reality of the announcements in that contained, may make such order on the husband for payment to the wife of the expenses of the procedures and provision pending the suit alimony pending the suit as it might deem just.

·          Given further that the request for the expenses of the procedures and alimony  pending the suit, will, as far as what many would consider possible, be discarded within sixty days of service of such appeal to on the husband.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MOBILE BILL IS NOT PAID

Besides paying for a rooftop over your head and keeping the lights on, a phone bill is presumably the highest priority on your list as an "essential" month to month cost. If you don't pay your cell phone bill, your record will go into overdue debts. Your telecommunication company could cut your telephone off so you can't make or get calls. If steps are not taken, chances are that you don't find a way to manage the debts, your record will default and the agreement will be dropped. The telecommunications companies would then be able to make a move to recover the extraordinary bill, following the ordinary debt collection process.

Your inability to settle your month to month mobile bills won't make you criminally liable, for this is the only breach of what you and the telecommunications organization have settled upon.

Unpaid bill process by the companies

At the point when a bill has been sent to you, however, the payment is not done by the date there will be following strategy taken by the telecommunication industries:

·         If the bill is not paid by end of the month a reminder will be sent by the company to pay the bill on a due date.

·         If after the due date the payment is not received, the telecommunication company will disconnect your mobile service and it will not reconnect until the full payment of the outstanding bill is done.

·         If the payment is done through cheque, payment will be considered to be gotten when the cheque is received at the company’s office.

·         Restoring services may be chargeable- reactivation

·         We maintain all authority to charge a late payment fee.

·         If the payment of the outstanding amount is not completed then the contract will be terminated and legal action will be started to recuperate the debt.

·         In some cases passing of the remarkable sum (counting any late payment or interest charges) to a debt-collecting office to gather the cash for the company.

·         Data about debt might be imparted to different associations that give credit.

Step by step process

1.      Barring

At the point when more than 2 bills stay pending, the service gets barred. That is, you won't have the capacity to use any of the Chargeable services provided by the company. You get various warning and demands and calls from them to pay them the bill. Once you pay the bill services resumes within 30 minutes of payment. Regardless of whether you guarantee to pay, they will continue services for the next 72 Hours.

2.      Suspending

All services including free services of your number like incoming calls will be banned and the number will be disconnected. You get calls and request to the other number or your email address which you have submitted to them. Services resume within 48 hours of payment and when payment is done in full. Regardless of whether you guarantee to pay, they will continue services for the next 72 Hours.

3.      Disconnection

When the service to the number gets permanently disconnected, it won't continue regardless of whether payment is done in full as the number is permanently disconnected. You will have to go through all procedure of taking another connection like you have gone through in the beginning. There is no guarantee that the same number would be allotted to you.

4.      Recovery 1

Attempts like calling the client in their alternative number which he enlisted, sending Emails and notwithstanding going to the client at his address will be done on various circumstances. Eventually, they will attempt to take out any sum which they can. That is, for instance, if you have 3200 Rs charge pending, They will call up you and begin negotiation, beginning from 3000. They will state to from pay Rs3000 and give an offer of waiving off Rs 200 and to resume service within 4 hours of payment. Most fix a sum and pays. Yet, services won't continue.

5.      Recovery 2

Here, another group experiences the CDR (call detail record) of the client. Takes out a few numbers which client has called frequently and make calls to those number and mention to them thatYour (companion/sibling/sister/child/father) has not paid the bill and influenced a major debt to xx company and mention of taking a legal action on them.

6.      Recovery 3

Their legal counsel calls in any of your number which you use now or relative, companion or anybody and will request that you make payment at any of the closest companies stores or they will send you a legal notice. Due date this time will be short and the will act to be a little rude.

7.      Legal Notice

To the address which you have enrolled while taking a connection, they will send a legal notice. More often than not, they don't continue to encourage except if it's a major sum or something unique is connected. As your PAN is included, your credit score in CIBIL goes down if the companies have tied up with CIBIL.

Full and Final Settlements upon Termination of Contract of Employment

Definition of Full and Final Settlement

The process of an employee leaving a company is an important process for the human resource department. Usually, the process involves multiple stages: first is the initiation of the employee- company separation process wherein the employee notifies the management about his intent to leave the company. This may be followed by talk of counselling or negotiations between the employee and the company. Thereafter the company approves the resignation of the employee. Following this, any dues that are to be given to the employees are paid off. There may even be an exit interview with the employee wherein the company may seek feedback about the employee’s work experience from him/ her. The final stage of the separation process is that of full and final settlement wherein all the remaining dues to the employee are paid and which officially brings a close to the employee/ employer relationship. 

When someone in the capacity of an employee leaves a company, the person is entitled to the last month’s pay of his work with the employer. ‘Final Settlement’ is the process of paying off the leaving employee. Final settlement is conducted either in the last working month of the employee on which he or she is on the payroll or is performed after the employee has stopped working. This means that the employee’s payment can either be first settled before the employee officially resigns or it the employee can resign first and then his payment can be settled at a later point in time.

A full and final settlement is usually done in the form of a settlement contract which signifies the end of employer and employee relationship between the parties. However, a full and final settlement does not always mean that the employer is no longer liable to provide the leaving employee of his or her benefits. That is to say, even after the termination of the contract of employment, the employer is still required to pay gratuity to the leaving employee since by law the employer cannot contract with the employee to not pay gratuity.

How is the Final Settlement amount calculated?

There are a number of factors which have to be considered when determining the final and full settlement of an employee. These factors include:

·         Any unpaid salary or any arrears in salary. This amount includes any annual benefits that are due to the employee like travel allowances. This unpaid salary is calculated by multiplying the employee’s gross salary with the number of days for which the employee has to be paid and diving the sum amount by 26, which are the number of paid days in a month.

·         Any unpaid bonus is also calculated into this amount.

·         Any unavailed leaves are also calculated into this amount. This number is calculated by multiplying the number of days of non-availed leaves by the basic salary of the employees. And then this sum amount is divided by 26, which is the total number of working days in a month. The Factories Act, 1948 provisions for unpaid leave dues under section 79(11). As per this provision, any unpaid leave dues are required to be paid off by the employer before the 7th and 10th of the month following the resignation of the employee. The Shops and Establishment Acts of various states also provision for payment of unsettled amounts. For example, the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 196, under section 15(3), provides that all unpaid leave dues should be paid before the 7th and 10th of the next month.

·         Any employment gratuity is also calculated into the final and full settlement amount. The Payment of Gratuity of Act, 1972 provides under section 7(3) that gratuity should be paid within 30 days of the employee’s resignation. If gratuity is not paid within the stipulated time period, then interest will be added to the gratuity amount provided that the employee has complete four years and 240 days with the employer.

·         Pension is also a part of the full and final amount. However, pensions will only form part of the full and final amount if the leaving employee has been in service of the employer for at least six months and also has also completed ten years of pensionable service at the time of providing the Scheme Certificate post the retirement age of the employee, which is set at 58 years of age.

·         Deductions include income tax, provident fund, any application profession tax and also any compensation for which the employer did not serve any notice to the leaving employee. The money earned on a paid leave as well as gratuity is exempt from TDS (tax deducted at source). All other forms of payments to the leaving employee will attract TDS according to the tax laws of India as per Section 192 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Moreover, under section 72(5) of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, all employers need to forward the Employees Provident Fund claim forms within a time period of five days from the date of the employee submits his or her claim.

How long does the full and final settlement process take?

A full and final settlement, usually, is done on the employee’s last working day with his or her employer. However, the process of clearing the final settlement is not immediate and usually takes about 30 to 45 days to process the amount. This means that the final full and final settlement is paid only after the employee has left the company. If the employee has to be paid gratuity as well, then it is paid 30 days after the employee leaves the company. On the other hand, if the bonuses are due to the employee then they should be paid within that accounting year.

Helpful pointers to facilitate smooth full and final settlement process

·         Ensure that any advance that was taken from the employers is settled. And if not, then ensure that it gets adjusted in the final settlement amount.

·         Ensure that you obtain copies of the different clearances that are needed from the various departments of the company.

·         It is prudent on part of the resigning employee to ensure that the final settlement process is carried out as per procedure. To do this, it is good practice to become familiar with the employer company’s policies. Hence, the employee should go through the company’s human resources policies, the employee rule book as well as any standing orders or notices passed by the company. These documents and policies are by rule available to the employees of a company. In case they are not made available, then they can be asked for by the employer company.

·         Make all communications with the employer in written instead of verbal and ensure that the Human Resource department is informed of such communications.

Laws applicable

On the event that there is some issue with the payment of the Full and Final Settlement amount and the resigning employee feels the need to take legal recourse, the following laws are applicable to the matter of full and final settlement:

·         Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946.

·         Shops and Establishment Act.

·         Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

·         Payment of Wages Act, 1936

Usually, problems with full and final settlement arise with respect to the notice period. Numerous court cases have stated that whichever party, either the employee or the employer that does not honour their contractual commitments will be the one who will have to compensate the other party. If an employer is terminating employees’ en mass, then the employer will first have to seek permission for the same from the relevant government body also the concerned authority that has been specified by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and inform them that the employer intends to mass terminate the contract of its employees. The legislation has provisions that require the employers to give employees the termination notice with an adequate amount of notice period. If adequate notice is not given, then the employer should give the employees adequate compensation as per that particular industry standard.

In the case of Bennett Coleman & Co. (P) Ltd v. PunyaPriya Das Gupta (AIR 1970 SC 426) is an important case relevant to full and final settlement. In this case, the employee had resigned from his company and had claimed the dues for the period of his leave. In the process of receiving his full and final settlement from his employer, the employee signed a receipt which did not contain the payment of dues for his period of leave. The Supreme Court, in this case, held that the employee was entitled to claim such dues for the period of leave as he had not waived off his rights to claim the said dues as part of his full and final settlement.

In the case of Automotive and Allied Industries v. Regional Provident Fund [(1990) 95 BOMLR 740], the Bombay High Court held that when the full and final settlement process has been completed, the employee later cannot claim any other amount from the employer. In doing so, the High Court allowed that any statutory benefit could be waived off. However, section 14 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 states gratuity has to be paid by the employer and its payment cannot be waived off by any contract or statutory provision. This case can be used to argue the point that a statutory benefit that enables a rise to a claim on part of the employee can be waived through a contract. But it must also be noted that gratuity is an amount of money that is paid when an employee dies, retires or is superannuated. The significance and importance of gratuity cannot be negated or overpowered by a contractual clause or consent on part of the employee. Gratuity is a legislative and statutory provision that has serves a welfare purpose and backed by a moral reasoning and courts should be mindful of this the significance of gratuity when deciding matters related to full and final payment with respect to gratuity.

In the case of Burroughs Wellcome (I) Ltd. v. Jagannath Namdeo Patel and Ors. [2006 (1) Bom CR 812], the Bombay High Court, the issue was regarding the employee’s complaint of non-payment of wages and whether the inclusion of Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) negated the employees’ claim. The Court held that once the employees have availed of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, they cannot file a complaint against the employer since they have waived off their claims under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. This is because Voluntary Retirement Scheme was a contractual term between the employee and the employer and the court does not have the power to rewrite the terms of a contract.

In the case of L. Ravi v. The Presiding Officer [(W. P. No.2442 of 2008)], the employee had resigned from his company and had also received all of his dues through the full and final settlement process. However, the employee had alleged that he had been threatened to resign from the position by the General Manager of the company. Here, the Madras High Court had rejected the employee’s claim on the grounds that the employee had received all of his dues on the same date as his resignation through full and final settlement. The completion of full and final settlement indicated that all relationships between the employee and the employer had come to an end and if the employee had actually been coerced into resigning, then the company would not have given his full and final settlement on the same day as his resignation.

Format for a letter of Full and Final Settlement

Given below is a general format for a letter of Full and Final Settlement that can be relied upon:

To,

The GM-HR

_____(Enter the name of the employer/ company)

_____(Enter date)

Re: Issue of Full and Final Settlement

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is to inform you that it has been ___ days since my resignation from your company and I have not yet received my fill and final settlement and the same is a concern to me. My resignation from the company is dated ____.

                           

I request you to process my full and final settlement and send me any due amount with regard to the same at the earliest. I request you to also send the original statement of the same as well.

Thank you.

Regards,

_____ (Enter your name)

_____ (Enter your present address)

Filing an FIR or Police Complaint Online

However, the problem faced by people when filing an FIR is that the process can often prove to be very tedious and some might even fact harassment at the hands of the police or non-cooperation if the police refuse to register the complaint/ FIR.

On the other hand, the police too are hard pressed to perform well when their work conditions are less than ideal. Many police stations are often understaffed and are overburdened by work. This makes processes that involve interacting with the public like filing FIRs a tedious task for the police officers which often leads to them coming off as apathetic or rude.

In order to make the process of filing FIRs easier, convenient and quick police departments in various cities have now made online FIRs available on their websites. Through online FIRs, people can now file FIRs with the police on their websites. The facility also allows them to track stolen vehicles and check the progress of their FIRs. Online FIRs have the benefit that they not only save people on time and money but also save them the trouble of being harassed by the police. Online FIR registration also gives the police more time to complete their own pending work, allows them to respond quickly and enables them to follow up on FIRs more effectively.  It should be noted that online FIRs are usually meant for minor offences and one should visit the police station in person for registering FIRs for grave offences like murder or rape.

Given below is the procedure for filing an FIR online with the police of the four metropolitan cities of India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

New Delhi                                                                       

In order to file an online FIR with the Delhi police, following the steps mentioned below:

1.    Visit the website of the Delhi Police at http://www.delhipolice.nic.in

2.    At the home page, click on the option listed as ‘Citizen Services’. You will be directed to a page which enlists a number of online services that the Delhi Police provides.

For filing FIR for lost possessions:

3.    On the Citizen Services page, click on the Lost and Found option.

4.    Under the heading of the Lost Article Report in the Lost and Found page, four headings should be visible: Retrieve; Register; Search Found Articles and FAQ. Click on the Register option.

5.    You will be taken to the registration page wherein details with being sought including the complainant’s name, address, email ID and description of the lost objects.

6.    After filling in the form, click on the Submit button.

7.    An e-FIR will be sent to your email address in PDF format.

E-FIRs can also be filed for thefts and thefts of motor vehicles. All the options are available at the Citizens Service page of the Delhi Police website. A similar procedure of registration (which asks for the complainant’s name, email address and phone number) has to be followed for the filing of all e- FIRs.

Mumbai

For filing of a complaint with the Mumbai police, follow the given procedure:

1. Visit the website of the Mumbai police at https://mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in

2.    On the right-hand side of the page, scroll down the drop-down menu of the Contact Us option.

3.    You will see an option titled Lodge A Complaint.

4.    In the Complaint/ e-FIR form, you will have filled up some details which include your name, address, email ID, phone number and also the complaint that has to be registered. You will also have to choose the police station that has jurisdiction from the list in the drop-down menu.

5.    Next, to the option which asks you for your email ID, there is a button which reads ‘Get Code’. An OTP (One Time Password)/ Authoring Code will be sent to the given email address which is needed verifying the complaint and to enable the complainant to submit the complaint.  The complaint can only be registered upon entering the correct Authorising Code.

6.    Once the complaint is submitted, an FIR Number/ Complaint Number will be generated which shall be used by the complainant for tracking the status of the complaint in the future.

It must be noted that the e-FIR/ complaint can only be registered for non- cognizable offence which is not of serious nature. For all major crimes, which are usually cognizable offences, the complaint/ FIR cannot be made online and has to be made in person at the police station. Such major offences include crimes like murder, rape, theft, extortion, assault, attempt to murder, theft of motor vehicles etc. 

Kolkata

In order to file a complaint or e- FIR in Kolkata, follow the given steps:

1.    Visit the website of Kolkata Police at http://www.kolkatapolice.gov.in/

2.    Scroll down the home page and click on the icon titled Report A Crime.

3.    The page will ask you information about the complaint as well as contact information. This includes the complainant’s name, address, email address as well as the relevant police station. You will also have to fill in a description of the incident that has to be reported.

4.    Upon selecting the Send button, the complaint will be sent to the Kolkata Police and a confirmation for the same will be sent to the complainant’s email account.

It should be noted that online complaint/ e-FIR can be filed only for minor crimes. Moreover, the Kolkata Police website also explicitly states that responses to complaints filed online will not be addressed on an immediate and urgent basis.

                                              

Chennai

To file an online FIR or complaint with the Chennai police, following the steps are given below:

1.    Visit the Tamil Nadu Police website at http://www.tnpolice.gov.in/

2.    On the list of Online Services on the homepage, select the option Register Online Complaint. Clicking on the option will take you to the page where online complaints can be registered.

3.    The complaints page consists of four sections:

a.    First, you need to enter in the correct district of Tamil Nadu in which you want to file the complaint.

b.    Second, you will need to enter in details about yourself. This includes filling in your name, address, gender, date of birth, mobile number and your email ID.

c.    Third, you will need to enter details about the about the complaint you want to file. You will have to select the type of crime that you want to report followed by the date and place where the crime took place. You will also have to type in a short description of the crime.

4.    Lastly, the Tamil Nadu police website allows you to attach any documents to the complaint that you would like to share with the police.

5.    Once the form is filled, enter the verification code at the very bottom of the page and press the Register button.

Jharkhand

First Information Reports can be filed online with the Jharkhand police at their website https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

There are two methods of filing an online FIR with the Jharkhand police: either using the Aadhaar card as identity proof or using other forms of identification.

If using the Aadhaar card for registration of FIR, follow the below-mentioned steps:

•    Enter in your Aadhaar number at the home page of Jharkhand police at https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

•    Opt for OTP verification. You will receive a One Time Password on your phone number that has been registered with Aadhaar

•    Upon entering this One Time Password, you will be taken to the complaint form with the details of the complainant (as registered with Aadhaar) already filed in.

If filing the online complaint without using the Aadhaar card, follow the below-mentioned steps:

•    Go to the website of the Jharkhand police at https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

•    On the bottom right corner of the box which is titled as ‘Instant Registration Using Aadhaar’, click on the text which says ‘Please Click Here’.

•    You will be directed to the complaint form page. Fill in the required information into the form. You will have to fill in the following details:

o    Personal details: Name, age and gender of the complainant

o    Full address of the complainant along with the pin code

o    Contact details of the complainant that include the complainant’s email address, phone number and mobile phone number.

o    A soft copy of the identity document of the complainant. The complainant will have to enter in the identification number and also upload a digital copy of the identity proof. The digital copy should be less than 3 MB in size and be of jpg, doc, docx or pdf format. The following documents of identity can be used by the complainant to register the online complaint with the Jharkhand police:

    Passport

    PAN card

    Driving licence

    Voter identity card

    Employee card

    Bank passbook

•    Next, the complainant will have to enter in the district in which the crime took place from the drop-down menu in the form. The complainant also has to fill in the exact name of the place whether the incident occurred.

•    After filling in above-mentioned information, the complainant has to fill in the details of the complaint. From the drop-down menu of the ‘Topic’ header, the complainant has to select what type of complaint he or she is going to file: it can be a criminal complaint or a cyber crime complaint. The complainant can also choose the Miscellaneous option if his or her complaint does not fall into any of these categories.

Thereafter, the complainant has to fill in the Subject of the complaint and write down the details of the crime that he or she wants to report. The applicant can also attach documents or other attachments to the complaint. However, such attachments have to be less than 3MB in size. They can be either in jpg, doc, docx or pdf format.

•    Lastly, the complainant has to enter in the One Time Password if required. After the form has been filled in, the complainant can now submit the complaint.

•    The status of the complaint filed by the complainant can also be checked online on the website of the Jharkhand police. On the top right corner of the website, click on the option titled JOFS FIR status.

•    Enter your mobile number or email address as well as the complaint ID and you can see the status of your complaint.

Orissa

Online complaints can be filed with the Orissa police by following the below mentioned procedure:

• Visit the website of Orissa police at https://citizenportal-op.gov.in/citizen/login.aspx

•    Click on the ‘Complaint’ option located in the middle of the homepage.

•    In order to register the complaint, the complainant has to first register with the Citizen Portal facility of the Orissa police. For this, click on the ‘Register’ option that is provided in the second last bullet that is displayed on the screen.

•    You will be taken to the Citizen Registration page wherein you will have to fill in your details like your name, email address, phone number, gender, date of birth, the Login ID that you would like and also the password that you would like for your Citizen Portal profile.

•    Thereafter, you can file the complaint on the website.

•    If you already have a Citizen Portal account then login through the Orissa police homepage and you can file the complaint thereafter.

•    Once a complaint is filed in the Citizen Portal, the complainant will be provided with a registration number and also be sent an acknowledgment.

•    At the same time, the Officer in Charge of the Police Station will receive an alert that a complaint has been filed online and the Officer will carry out the necessary actions.

•    When enquiring into the complaint, the complainant may also be contacted by a police officer.