CRIMIMAL TRIALS UNDER CRPC

TYPES OF TRIALS

TRIAL OF SESSION COURT (225-237)

TRIAL OF WARRANT CASES (238-250)
TRIAL OF SUMMARY CASES (251-259)
SUMMARY TRIALS (260-265)
PLEA BARGAINING (265A-265L)
 TRIAL OF SESSION COURT (225-237)
 No direct cognizance taken by Session Court (Section 193(2))

 A case can only committed to the Session Court by a Magistrate when the Magistrate is of the opinion
that the case is triable exclusively by Sessions Court. In this case the Magistrate shall comply with
following conditions:
 A. Comply with Sections 207 & 208 of Crpc.
 B. Subject to the provisions of bail, remand the accused to the custody.
 C. Send to the Court of Sessions records of the case.
 D. Notify the public prosecutor
 Only exception is Section 199(2) where the Court of Session is empowered to take Direct
Cognizance.

 Where a defamation is done against the President of India, Vice President, Ministers of Union &
State Level, Public Servants regarding their course of discharge of function in that capacity, the
Sessions Court can take Direct Cognizance and can hear the case.
 THREE STAGES

STAGE 1- Opening of Case (225-227)

STAGE 2- The Trial (228-234)

STAGE 3- Sentencing (235-237)

 Trial in a Session Court is conducted by a Public Prosecutor who represents the State
and the victim since all the crimes against against an individual is deemed to be an
offence the Society. (Section 225)

 The Public Prosecutor opens the case for Prosecution and he shall start by
describing the charges against the accused and stating the evidences and witnesses
which he proposes to use. THE PP DOESN’T EXAMINE WITNESS AND EVIDENCE IN THIS
STAGE. (Section 226)

 In Hukam Singh v. State of Rajasthan it was held that where there are two many
witnesses, the PP has a choice to examine all or any witnesses of his choice.
 227. Discharge. If, upon consideration of the record of the case and the documents
submitted therewith, and after hearing the submissions of the accused and the
prosecution in this behalf, the Judge considers that there is not sufficient ground for
proceeding against the accused, he shall discharge the accused and record his
reasons for so doing.

 Cases:
 Union of India v. Prafulla Kumar,
 The judge while considering the question of framing the charges under Section 227 of
the Code has the undoubted power to weigh the evidences to find out if a prima
facie is being made against the accused.

 Central Bureau of Invstigation v. [Link] Rao,

 It was held that if no prima facie charge is found against the accused then he has to
be released.
 228. Framing of charge.(1) If, after such consideration and hearing as aforesaid, the
Judge is of opinion that there is ground for presuming that the accused has
committed an offence which-(a) is not exclusively triable by the Court of Session, he
may, frame a charge against the accused and, by order, transfer the case for trial to
the Chief Judicial Magistrate, and thereupon the Chief Judicial Magistrate shall try
the offence in accordance with the procedure for the trial of warrant- cases
instituted on a police report;
 (b) is exclusively triable by the Court, he shall frame in writing a charge against the
accused.
 (2) Where the Judge frames any charge under clause (b) of sub- section (1), the
charge shall be read and explained to the accused and the accused shall be asked
whether he pleads guilty of the offence charged or claims to be tried.
 Basically the Judge has 2 options in this case:
 i. He may hear the case and frame the charges himself.
 Ii. He may transfer the case back to the Magistrate with or without framing the
charges.
 Cases
 Somnath Thapa v. State of Maharashtra,
 If there is ground for presuming that the accused has committed the offence, a
court can say that a prima facie case exists and so frame charge against the
accused. In other words the Judge may frame the charge from suspicion but
conviction can only be done after thoroughly analyzing the evidences.

 State [Link]
 Session Judge can transfer a case to the CJM after he has framed the charge.
But mere omission to frame the charge would not vitiate the trial and in such
cases the CJM has to frame the charges and proceed with the trial.
 Plea of Guilty – Section 229.
 An accused may plea guilty of the charges framed but then it is the discretion of
the judge to convict him or not.

 Cases.
 Tyron Nazarath v. State of Maharashtra
 It was held that when an accused pleads guilty, conviction on that basis is not
barred merely because a serious offence providing grave sentence is involved.
The rule of prudence requires that a man should not be convicted for such an
offence without recording the evidence.

 Cheena Pavchi v. State of Madras,

 As a matter of practice the courts prefer not to convict someone on the basis of
guilty plea in murder cases.
 230. Date for prosecution evidence. If the accused refuses to plead, or does not
plead, or claims to be tried or is not convicted under section 229, the Judge shall fix a
date for the examination of witnesses, and may, on the application of the
prosecution, issue any process for compelling the attendance of any witness or the
production of any document or other thing.
 Here the judge fixes a date to listen the witnesses and evidences of the Prosecution.
The court issues process to the witnesses to appear before it and it is the duty of the
court to ensure that the witnesses arrive.

 Case
 Muktipad Mandal v. Abdul Jabbar,
 When on a request made by the prosecution summons have been issued for
attendance of witnesses, the court cannot subsequently dispense with such
attendance merely on the ground that the witnesses are not appearing before the
court.
 231. Evidence for prosecution.(1) On the date so fixed, the Judge shall proceed
to take all such evidence as may be produced in support of the prosecution.
 (2) The Judge may, in his discretion, permit the cross- examination of any
witness to be deferred until any other witness or witnesses have been examined
or recall any witness for further cross- examination.
 Cases
 Habeeb Mohammad v. State of Hyderabad,
 It was held that it is the duty of the court to normally listen to all the eye
witnesses in support of the case.
 Bir Singh v. State of UP,
 The SC held that though the prosecution is generally not bound to produce every
witness but it must examine all eye witnesses when some of them are interested
and require corroboration.
 232. Acquittal. If, after taking the evidence for the prosecution, examining the
accused and hearing the prosecution and the defence on the point, the
 Judge considers that there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence,
the Judge shall record an order of acquittal.

ACQUITAL DISCHARGE

It is final It is not final

Done after examining evidences Done after hearing the PP

Article 20(2) applies Article 20(2) doesn’t apply

It is a judgment The judge has to give reasons

Cannot be tried again even if better Can be tried again even if better
evidences are found evidences are found
 233. Entering upon defence.(1) Where the accused is not acquitted under section
232, he shall be called upon to enter on his defence and adduce any evidence he
may have in support thereof.
 (2) If the accused puts in any written statement, the Judge shall file it with the
record.
 (3) If the accused applies for the issue of any process for compelling the
attendance of any witness or the production of any document or thing, the Judge
shall issue such process unless he considers, for reasons to be recorded, that such
application should be refused on the ground that it is made for the purpose of
vexation or delay or for defeating the ends of justice.

 Here the defence witness is brought to the court provided the Judge is not of the
opinion that the witnesses are brought to unnecessary delay the trial process.
 234. Arguments. When the examination of the witnesses (if any) for the defence is
complete, the prosecutor shall sum up his case and the accused or his pleader shall
be entitled to reply: Provided that where any point of law is raised by the accused or
his pleader, the prosecution may, with the permission of the Judge, make his
submissions with regard to such point of law.
 Order of Arguments

Prosecution Witness

Defence Witness

Prosecution Rebuttal and

Summing Up

Defence Rebuttal and Summing

Up
 235. Judgment of acquittal or conviction.(1) After hearing arguments and points of
law (if any), the Judge shall give a judgment in the case.
 (2) If the accused is convicted, the Judge shall, unless he proceeds in accordance
with the provisions of section 360, hear the accused on the question of sentence,
and then pass sentence on him according to law.
 Case,
 Santa Singh v. State of Punjab,
 Section 235(2) is not merely confined to hearing oral submissions but it is also
intended to give an opportunity to the prosecution and the accused to place before
the court facts and materials relating to various factors bearing on the question of
sentence and if they are contested by either side, then to produce evidence for
the purpose of establishing the same.
 Section 236 says that previous conviction of the convict shall only be taken into
consideration after the conclusion of the trial and not during the course of the
trial.

 Section 237 states the process of trial for the Defamation Cases under Section
199(2). Every trial under this section shall be in camera i.e. privately and in case
of malicious complaint against the defendant, the complainant may be fined.
TRIAL OF WARRANT CASES (Sections 238-250)

Cases Instituted on Police Report (238-243)

Cases instituted otherwise than on Police

Report (244-247)

Conclusion of Trial (248-250)

 Cases Instituted on Police Report
 Warrant Cases are tried by CJM, JMFC, CMM & MM.
 Cases on police report begins when the accused is brought before the magistrate. (Section
238)
 A police report is a report prepared by the Police as per the provisions of Section 173 of
Crpc and such police reports basically contain the details of the accused, crime and facts.
 After considering the Police Report if the magistrate is not satisfied that a case exists
against the accused then he may discharge the accused. (Section 239)
 But if he is of the opinion that a prima facie case exists then he may proceed to frame the
charges. (Section 240)
 Plea of Guilty. (Section 241)
 If accused doesn’t plead guilty then the trial begins and the prosecution exhibits the
witnesses .Procedure same as Session Court. (Section 242)
 After prosecution the defence may proceed with his witnesses. But in Warrant Cases the
Magistrate may ask for expenses of a witness from the accused if he is of the opinion that
the accused is undertaking delaying tactics.
 Cases instituted otherwise than on Police Report
 Such cases are those where the Magistrate takes direct cognizance on complaint.
(Section 200)
 In such cases the magistrate directly takes the evidences from the prosecution
before listening to the accused. Unlike in Session Court where prosecution
witness comes after framing the charge, in warrant cases evidences are taken
first. (Section 244)
 After taking the witnesses and evidences if the magistrate is of the opinion that
no prima facie case exists then he shall discharge the accused. (Section 245)
 If accused is not discharged then the Magistrate shall frame the charges.
 The Charge shall be read out to the accused.
 The accused may plea guilty.
 If he doesn’t plea guilty then he may be allowed to cross examine the witnesses
of the prosecution whose evidences have already been taken. (Section 246)
 After examining the witnesses o the prosecution he may examine his own
witnesses. (Section 247.)
 Conclusion of Trial
 After hearing the defence and prosection cases the Magistrate may:
 Acquit the accused.
 Apply provisions of Section 325 or 360 or punish him directly.
 If any previous conviction is there for the accused then that may be taken into
account. (Section 248)
 If Complainant is absent then the accused may be discharged provided:
 The case is non cognizable.
 The case is compoundable.
 The charge has not yet been framed. (Section 249)
 If the Magistrate finds out that the complaint was malafide and without a cause
then he may impose a fine on the complainant and also send him to jail as per
Sections 68 & 69 of IPC. (Section 250)
 • Case begins with compliance Section 207

Warrant
• Formal Charge is Framed
• Can only be convicted of the offences mentioned in the charge sheet
• Cannot be withdrawn
• Cannot be converted to a Summon Case

Cases Magistrate cannot stop a proceeding midway

•
• For absence of complainant, the accused will be discharged only if case
is compoundable, non cognizable and charge sheet not framed.
• Complainant may be penalized for malafide complaints

• Case begins by stating the substance of accusation

Summon
• Formal Charge is not framed
• Since no charge is formed, can be convicted of any other similar or allied
offences.
• Can be withdrawn

Cases
• Can be Converted to a Warrant Case
• Magistrate can stop a proceeding midway
• For absence of complainant the accused shall be acquitted.
• No such provisions.
 SUMMON CASES (251-259)
 In Summon Cases, Summons are issued as per Section 204 of Crpc.
 When the accused appears before the magistrate, the particulars of his offences
shall be stated to him but no formal charges will be framed. (Secton 251)
 Plea of Guilty. (252)
 Where the accused has been charged of a petty offence under Section 206 Crpc
he may plead guilty by post or by messenger and also by paying the fine therein.
The magistrate then in his discretion may convict the accused and sentence
accordingly. (253)
 If not convicted by plea of guilty then the magistrate shall proceed to hear the
prosecution witness then the defence witness. (254)
 After hearing the witnesses he may acquit or convict the accused.
 If Section 325 or 360 applies then proceed accordingly.
 A Magistrate may also convict the accused of a similar offence which he is not
originally charged of since no formal chargesheet is framed. (255)
 In case of non appearance of complainant unlike the Warrant case, the accused will be
acquitted of all charges. (Section 256)

 A complaint may be withdrawn any time before the final order is passed. If a case has
more than one accused then complaint can be withdrawn against all or any of the
accused but subject to the satisfaction of the Magistrate.(257)

 A JMFC with the previous consent of CJM may stop proceedings in a case and discharge
the accused but if prosecution witnesses and evidences have been taken then the
accused shall be acquitted. (258)

 If Magistrate is of the opinion that a Summon Case needs to be heard as Warrant Case
then he may convert the same provided the minimum punishment for the offence is
six months. (259)
 SUMMARY TRIALS (260-265)
 Triable by CJM, CMM, JMFC.
 Type of Offences:
 Offences not punishable with death, life imprisonment and a term exceeding 2
years.
 Section 379,380,381 IPC.
 Section 411 IPC.
 Section 414 IPC
 Section 454 & 456 IPC
 Section 504 IPC
 Abetment of the above offences.
 Attempt to Commit such Offences. (Section 260)
 JMSC can try such cases if authorized by the High Court (261)
 Same procedure for trial like Summon Cases i.e. Sections 251-259 shall apply.
(Section 262(1))
 Max punishment can only be three years . 262(2)- This provision has been
included mainly for two reasons:
 Firstly the basic rationale behind Summary trial is speedy disposal of cases. So 3
months punishment is given so that prisons are not over populated.
 Secondly for summary trials the goal is not to punish but to prevent backlog.
Therefore minimum punishment criteria is provided.