Author: Part III Team
We are dedicated to creating easy-to-use, accessible toolkits. The aim of making these toolkits is to empower the community to document their lived realities, take action to seek justice, and hold authorities in power accountable.
As part of these efforts, we have made a toolkit – ‘How to Write a Complaint Letter.’
This toolkit provides guidance on writing a letter to the police to report a crime and seek registration of a First Information Report. The guide explains what to include in the letter, the specific words to use, and also gives you a sample letter as a reference.
Why is knowing how to write a complaint letter important?
The complaint letter is the basis for registration of an FIR. This is important because there are several stages within the criminal justice system where the outcomes often depend on how an FIR is worded, what details are mentioned, and what is left out.
In such a situation, it is important to write a complaint letter carefully and include all relevant details. This letter becomes the first version of the survivor’s / complainant’s story in writing – if one leaves out important points and brings them up later, it often raises doubts about the complainant’s truth and could, at times, weaken the case.
The other advantage of a detailed complaint letter is that it helps the police understand what happened and what action needs to be taken, against whom.
This toolkit gives you a step-by-step guide on what to include in a complaint letter, so one does not miss anything important. It is meant to support the complainant in telling their story clearly and confidently.
If you have any feedback or suggestions on this toolkit, or if you want this toolkit in any other language, please write to us at [email protected]. We will try our best to help you.
Document attached: How to Write a Complaint Letter for Registration of FIR
