One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: A closure report without FIR is not a lawful end to a cognizable complaint. If your written complaint discloses stalking under Section 78 BNS, the police are bound to register an FIR and investigate, and you are not obliged to sign anything you disagree with. Refuse to sign, put your objections in writing, then escalate to the Superintendent of Police and, if needed, to the jurisdictional Magistrate.
Ananya Kulkarni was asked to sign a closure report without FIR, about three weeks after she first walked into a police station in Pune. The complaint itself was short and written. She had named a former colleague who, she said, kept appearing near the gate of her building in Kothrud after she blocked him online. The officer at the counter read it, made a note in the register, and told her someone would look into it. Then nothing.
She called twice. On the second call she was told the other side had already given a statement and there was "nothing in it." Around the third week of March 2025 she was asked to come in and sign. The paper in front of her recorded that the accused had denied everything, that the complaint was a personal dispute, and that the matter was closed. No FIR number appeared anywhere on it. She had never seen a case diary or any record of what enquiries, if any, were made.
She signed nothing. Instead she approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The existing remedy under the BNSS was explained, written objections were placed on record, and the matter moved from a station-level closure to a proper, recorded investigation. Advocate Sudhir Rao and his office argued that the complaint disclosed a cognizable offence on its face and that the closure had no legal foundation to stand on. His familiarity with this category of criminal work, where the fight is usually about procedure long before it is about evidence, is what helped secure the direction in the client's favour.
We only have her side of it. The other account may differ.
Key Facts of the Case
- A written complaint was placed before a police officer in Pune in early March 2025, alleging repeated following and unwanted contact by a named person.
- The complaint, on its face, disclosed the ingredients of Section 78 BNS (stalking), which is a cognizable offence.
- No FIR was registered. No FIR number was ever communicated to the complainant.
- The police relied on the version given by the person complained against and treated the matter as a personal dispute.
- The complainant was asked to sign a closure report, which presupposes a registered case and an investigation.
- The complainant refused to sign and instead recorded objections in writing.
- The matter was taken to the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao, where the procedural route under the BNSS was mapped and pursued.
- The outcome was a direction for a recorded investigation rather than a quiet file closure.
The Direct Legal Answer
Can the police close a case without registering an FIR?
No, not in the way it is usually attempted. A closure report, or final report, is filed once an FIR exists and an investigation has been done. Where no FIR was registered, there is nothing to close. What the police were effectively doing was declining to register a case, and then trying to make that decision look final by getting a signature.
Do I have to sign the closure report?
You are not required to sign it. A signature on a closure report is not a legal formality you must complete, and signing it can later be read as your acceptance of the police version. Decline politely, and put your reasons on paper.
What is the correct next step?
Object in writing to the station, obtain a receipt or acknowledgement, then send the substance of your complaint to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) BNSS. If that produces nothing, the jurisdictional Magistrate can be moved for a direction to investigate under Section 175(3) BNSS. The Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v. Government of UP (2014) made the position clear: registration of an FIR is mandatory when the information discloses a cognizable offence.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Keep everything dated from here on. Every call you make to the station, note the date, the time and who you spoke to. An oral complaint that vanishes is almost impossible to prove later.
Ask for a copy of whatever is on record. If the police say there is no record, that answer is itself useful to you, so put your request in writing.
And here's the thing: this kind of matter turns on procedural and evidentiary nuances that general practitioners don't often deal with daily. A lawyer who handles these matters regularly will usually know which forum to move, and in what order.
Applicable Sections of Law
- Section 78, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (stalking): following a woman or
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal lawyer in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.