Police won't register your cyber-fraud FIR? e-Zero FIR, the SP and the Magistrate route

AI-generated editorial illustration by CyberShitty. Not a photograph or a document from the organisations named.

You can report a cognisable offence at any police station, in person or online, and the FIR copy is free. In 18 States and UTs a 1930 complaint can become an e-Zero FIR by itself. If the station refuses: the SP by post, then a Magistrate.

01 / The short answer

Lost money to an online fraud, and the police station will not write an FIR? Reporting a crime against you is your right. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), you can report a cognisable offence at any police station, wherever the fraud happened, in person or electronically, and the FIR copy is free. If the station refuses, send your complaint in writing, by post, to the Superintendent of Police (SP). If that fails too, apply to a Magistrate.

In 18 States and Union Territories (UTs), the Home Ministry said in July 2026, a complaint to 1930 or on cybercrime.gov.in above a loss threshold becomes an e-Zero FIR by itself; you must then visit the police station within three days. Money gone in the last few hours? Call 1930 first; the FIR can follow. Section 08 has the steps.

02 / Why the FIR matters

A complaint to 1930 or on cybercrime.gov.in is not itself an FIR. The portal's FAQ says a cyber-crime complaint can be withdrawn 'before it is converted into FIR', and the Home Ministry told the Lok Sabha that converting complaints into FIRs is the job of State and UT police. Some later steps depend on the FIR:

• Getting held money back. Under the Home Ministry's standard operating procedure (SOP) of 2 January 2026, police can give a single victim interim custody of held money below ₹50,000 under BNSS section 106(3); above ₹50,000, that route is 'in connection with an FIR'. The SOP says police should seize accounts only with respect to an FIR or e-FIR, and lists directions from six High Courts not to insist on an FIR for portal complaints when held money is released. How held money is released.
• Hearing what happens next. The BNSS says the police must tell the informant or victim about the investigation's progress within 90 days, by any means including electronic communication (section 193(3)(ii)).

03 / Your rights at the police station

The BNSS replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) when India's new criminal laws came into force on 1 July 2024. Confirmed from its section 173:

• Any police station. Information about a cognisable offence may be given to the officer in charge of a police station 'irrespective of the area where the offence is committed' (section 173(1)). The government (PIB) calls this a Zero FIR.
• In person or electronically. If you tell the officer, it must be written down, read back to you and signed by you. If you send it electronically, it is taken on record once you sign it within three days. Read the written version before you sign, and ask for corrections.
• A free copy. A copy of the information as recorded must be given 'forthwith, free of cost' to the informant or the victim (section 173(2)).

A cognisable offence is one for which the police may arrest without a warrant; the officer in charge can investigate it without a Magistrate's order. The BNSS's First Schedule lists cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property (section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, BNS) as cognisable, with up to 7 years in prison and a fine, and cheating by personation (BNS 319(2)) as cognisable too. Simple cheating (318(2)) is listed as non-cognisable. Which sections fit your case is for the police, and later a court, to decide.

04 / e-Zero FIR: when a 1930 complaint becomes an FIR by itself

The Home Ministry told the Lok Sabha on 28 July 2026 that it has given States and UTs a platform for e-Zero FIRs in cyber financial fraud. Confirmed from that answer:

• A complaint on cybercrime.gov.in or to 1930 with a loss above a threshold, set by each State or UT, is registered automatically as an e-Zero FIR at the State or UT's e-Crime police station, then transferred to the cyber crime police station for the area.
• You must visit that station within three days to convert it into a regular FIR. PIB said in May 2025 that the process follows BNSS section 173(1), which has the same three-day signing rule for electronic information. We found no official word on what happens if you miss it. In Rajasthan, the Free Press Journal reported, police will issue a notice if you do not come within 72 hours, and the preliminary investigation will continue.

Where it works. The 18 States and UTs, with the month each started and the number of e-Zero FIRs the ministry gave in its 28 July 2026 answer:

• May 2025: Delhi, 6,115.
• November 2025: Chandigarh, 4,174; Madhya Pradesh, 61.
• January 2026: Rajasthan, 251; Goa, 446.
• March 2026: Uttarakhand, 552.
• June 2026: West Bengal, 10; Assam, 223; Odisha, 27; Haryana, 165.
• July 2026: Gujarat, 1; Tripura, 32; Maharashtra, 131; Jammu and Kashmir, 39; Tamil Nadu, 8; Telangana, 9; Bihar, 12; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 1.

That is 12,257 in all, by our count; Delhi and Chandigarh account for 10,289. Punjab is not on the list: its police launched e-Zero FIRs on 28 July 2026 for frauds above ₹5 lakh, The Tribune (PTI) and The Pioneer reported.

The threshold depends on where you are. ₹10 lakh was the figure for Delhi's pilot in May 2025, not a national rule. Rajasthan Police said on 23 July 2026 that its threshold had come down from ₹5 lakh to ₹1 lakh or more. In Delhi, The Tribune and The Indian Awaaz reported that from 1 November 2025 the help desk at any police station could register a cyber e-FIR for frauds of ₹1 lakh or more, down from ₹10 lakh. We did not find official thresholds for the other States and UTs. Below the threshold, or not on the list? Take your acknowledgement number to the police station and ask for an FIR. Your State's cyber police page lists its official contacts: an email, and a helpline and a portal where one is listed.

05 / Turned away? Three steps up

1. Ask in writing at the station. Hand in a short written complaint with copies of your evidence, ask for it to be registered as an FIR, and get a stamped or signed copy back as your receipt. Note the date, the time and the officer's name. Sent to another station 'where it happened'? Section 173(1) lets you report at any station.
2. Write to the SP, by post. If the officer in charge refuses to record your information, section 173(4) lets you send its substance in writing, by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned. If satisfied that it discloses a cognisable offence, the SP must investigate personally or direct a junior officer to investigate. Use Speed Post or registered post and keep the receipt; the district or city police website lists the address. In a city with a Police Commissioner, ask the city police office which officer receives section 173(4) letters for your area. Section 06 has a letter you can adapt.
3. Apply to a Magistrate. If the SP does not act, the same section lets you apply to a Magistrate. Under section 175(3), the Magistrate considers your application, supported by an affidavit, may make inquiries and hear the police, and can then order an investigation. This is a court filing, so consider a lawyer's help. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) says free legal aid is open to any woman whatever her income, and to others who meet the law's criteria, such as an income limit. Its toll-free helpline is 15100.

Know the catch: a 14-day preliminary enquiry. For an offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven, section 173(3) lets the officer in charge, with prior permission from an officer of at least Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank, hold a preliminary enquiry within 14 days to see whether there is a prima facie case, or go straight to investigation if there is one. So a short wait can be lawful. If told an enquiry is under way, ask which sections are being considered and whether a DSP-rank officer approved it, note the date and follow up after 14 days. Then compare the punishment for those sections with this range: the First Schedule lists section 318(4) at up to 7 years (section 03).

The FIR copy is free by law. Never pay a caller or agent who offers to get your FIR registered or 'fast-tracked'.

06 / A letter to the SP you can adapt

Keep it short and factual. Attach copies, never originals.

To: The Superintendent of Police, [district] [or, in a Police Commissioner city, the officer the city police named], [office address]

Subject: Refusal to register an FIR for online fraud: information sent under Section 173(4) of the BNSS, 2023

Sir/Madam,

1. On [date], I lost ₹[amount] in an online fraud. [Two or three lines: who contacted you, how, and how the money left your account.]
2. I reported it [on 1930 / on cybercrime.gov.in] on [date]. Acknowledgement number: [number].
3. On [date], I went to [police station] to give this information. The officer in charge did not record it. [What you were told, if anything.]
4. I request you to have this information recorded and to investigate the case yourself or direct an investigation, as Section 173(4) provides, and to give me a copy of the FIR under Section 173(2).

Enclosed: my complaint with dates, amounts and transaction reference (UTR) numbers; bank statement; screenshots of messages and payment screens; the acknowledgement; [e-Zero FIR number, if any].

[Your name], [address], [mobile number], [date], [signature]

Keep a copy of the letter and everything you enclose, with the postal receipt.

07 / What we confirmed, and what we could not

Confirmed (official documents): your rights and the route up (BNSS sections 2, 173, 175 and 193 and its First Schedule, Gazette of India); when the new laws took effect (PIB, Home Ministry year-end review 2024); Zero FIR and the free copy as victim rights (PIB); how e-Zero FIR works and the 18 States and UTs, start months and counts (Lok Sabha Starred Question 135, 28 July 2026); Delhi's ₹10 lakh pilot (PIB, 19 May 2025); Rajasthan's ₹1 lakh threshold (Rajasthan Police on X); the FIR rules for releasing held money (Home Ministry and I4C SOP); the withdrawal rule for portal complaints (NCRP FAQ); what the CEIR block form asks for; free legal aid (NALSA). Reported (media): Punjab's launch, ₹5 lakh threshold and what victims are told (The Tribune/PTI, The Pioneer); what happens after the 72 hours in Rajasthan (Free Press Journal); Delhi's ₹1 lakh e-FIR at police help desks (The Tribune, The Indian Awaaz), for which we did not find Delhi Police's own notice; All India Radio's report of the Lok Sabha answer. Claimed (stated aims, not measured): that e-Zero FIRs speed up investigations and make it easier to get money back (Home Ministry), and speed up the freezing of fraud money (Punjab and Rajasthan police, as reported); asked in the Lok Sabha, the ministry gave no figures. Not available: a national list of thresholds, and any official count of FIRs refused.

08 / What to do now

• Money gone in the last few hours: call 1930 now, then your bank on its official number, then complete the complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Our lost-money checklist and UPI fraud guide cover the first hour. How to report on 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in.
• Told an e-Zero FIR was registered: go to the cyber police station within three days with ID, your acknowledgement number and your evidence. Not sure which station? Punjab Police said victims would be told the station and the investigating officer when the e-Zero FIR is registered (The Tribune/PTI, The Pioneer). If you were not told, ask at your nearest police station or on 1930, with your acknowledgement number.
• Complaint stuck at 'pending': what the NCRP statuses mean, and how to follow up.
• Money on hold: how held money is released. For a single victim, above ₹50,000 the SOP's police route needs an FIR.
• Refused at the station: write to the SP with the letter in section 06, then go to a Magistrate. Find your State's cyber police contacts.
• Phone stolen too: the CEIR block form asks for a police complaint number and a copy of the police report or FIR, so a police complaint is enough to apply. The CEIR block, step by step.
• Bank not helping: complain to it in writing, then to the RBI Ombudsman, alongside the police case.
• Offered help to fast-track your FIR or recover your money, for a fee: do not pay. What recovery really looks like.