Name Wrong in an FIR in Uttarakhand

A First Information Report is the first record the police make when they are told of an offence they can investigate without a court's order. Since July 2024 it is registered under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure.

• It is written down from what the informant says, read over, and signed by the informant.
• The informant is entitled to a copy, free.
• A copy goes to the Magistrate.
• It sets the investigation in motion. It is not the end of the matter, and it is not proof of what it says.

Names enter an FIR in a hurry: the informant's, the injured person's, the owner of a vehicle or of stolen property, and the persons accused. Each is written as it was spoken or as the writer heard it. That is where a wrong letter, a home name or a missing surname comes from.

The first three rows are the ones ordinary people can start on themselves. The last two should not be handled without a lawyer.

After an accident, the report is often given by a bystander, a driver or a relative, who may not know the full name of the person hurt or of the vehicle's owner.

• You, or a close family member, can give the same kind of written application with proof of the correct particulars.
• See that the other papers of the case carry the right name too: the medical report, the post-mortem report where there is one, and the seizure and inspection papers.
• Where the person has died, the name on the death certificate should match the identity papers, and the police papers should match both.
• Keep copies of everything. A claim rests on the whole set, not on the FIR alone.

For a death certificate, see name correction in a death certificate and legal heir certificate.

Ask the insurer in writing what it needs to treat the two names as one person. In a compensation case before a tribunal, your lawyer will lead evidence on who the person was. A wrong letter in an FIR does not by itself defeat a genuine claim, but it has to be explained.

Where the vehicle's own papers disagree, see vehicle RC name correction in Uttarakhand.

Here the FIR was right when it was written. You have since married, or changed your name by Gazette, and your identity papers no longer match the report.

• Nothing in the FIR needs correcting. It records the name you had then.
• What you need is the paper that links the two names: the marriage certificate or the Gazette notification.
• Tell the investigating officer, or your lawyer if the case is in court, so that the change is noted and notices reach you.
• Give the insurer or the tribunal the linking paper with your identity proof.

This is the one situation on this page where a Gazette has a part, and only if you have in fact changed your name. See gazette name change in Uttarakhand.

Step 1: Take advice first if a case is pending

If you are a party or a witness in a pending case, ask your lawyer before changing your name.

Step 2: Fix the exact new name

The spelling you will use on every paper.

Step 3: Make the affidavit

State the old name, the new name, your father's or husband's name and your address. Sign before a notary.

Step 4: Publish the newspaper notice

In a daily local leading newspaper. Keep the original newspaper.

Step 5: Type the form and sign the undertaking

Two typed copies of the specimen, signed in your old name with two witnesses, and the undertaking.

Step 6: Prepare the CD, photographs and certificate

The same text on a CD in MS Word, two self-attested photographs with identity proof, and a certificate that both copies match.

Step 7: Pay the charge on BharatKosh

Commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult. It is not refunded.

Step 8: Send the file yourself, then tell the police or the court

Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Give a copy of the published Gazette to the investigating officer or to your lawyer.

A typical case we handle: a man from Rudrapur called us after his scooter was stolen. The FIR had his name as "Raju", the name the neighbour who phoned the police knew him by, and the insurer would not take the claim. He wanted a Gazette to say Raju and Rajendra were one person. We told him a Gazette was not the answer. He gave the station a written application with his registration certificate and Aadhaar, his statement was recorded, and the final report carried his full name. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

What is a lawyer's job, not ours

Everything on this page that goes beyond a written application to the police: an accused wrongly named, a quashing petition, a claim before a tribunal, and any application to a court.

When you do not need us

For a name wrong in an FIR, always. Go to the police station, and to a lawyer where the matter is serious. We are useful only where your own name has changed and you need the Gazette that shows it.

Can an FIR be corrected after it is registered?

Its text is not rewritten. The correct particulars are brought on record in the later police papers.

How do I correct my name in an FIR?

Give a written application at the police station with proof, and ask for your further statement to be recorded.

Will a spelling mistake in an FIR affect my insurance claim?

It has to be explained. The later police papers and your identity proof usually settle it.

Can an affidavit correct an FIR?

No. It can only support your application, where it is asked for.

What if I am wrongly named in an FIR?

See a lawyer at once. This is not a spelling matter.

Is a gazette needed to correct a name in an FIR?

No. A Gazette has no power over a police record.

Which section of the BNSS deals with an FIR?

Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. FIR registration moved there from Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on 1 July 2024.

Can an FIR be made online, and does it need a signature?

Yes. Information given by electronic communication is taken on record, but it has to be signed by the person giving it within three days. Read every name before you sign.

Is the copy of an FIR free?

Yes. Under Section 173(2) of the BNSS, a copy of the registered FIR is to be given free of cost to the informant or the victim. Read the names in it the day you get it.

Can I find out how the investigation is going?

Section 193 of the BNSS gives the victim and the informant a right to be told of the progress of the investigation within 90 days, as reported. That is a chance to check that the right name has been taken on record.

What is a Zero FIR?

An FIR registered at any police station regardless of where the offence took place, and then sent to the station concerned. When it is transferred, check that the names were carried over correctly.

Do I get a copy of the final police report?

Once the police file their final report, the Magistrate is to give copies of the report, the FIR and the statements free of cost to the accused, and to the victim if represented by an advocate, within 14 days of the accused's first appearance, under Section 230 of the BNSS, as reported. That is where you can see if the right name was used.

An FIR is not rewritten once it is registered. Where a name in it is wrong, give the police station a written application with proof, keep a receiving, have your further statement recorded, and see that the final report to the court carries the right name. Raise it early.

No affidavit or Gazette corrects an FIR, and a person wrongly named as accused needs a lawyer at once. If you are unsure where to take it, message us on WhatsApp 9540005064, and we will point you to the right office, free.