SAKSHI JAIN

BBA LLB (6)

40819103517

DATED- 24.03.20

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ASSIGNMENT

Q1. What are the stages to be followed in respect of procedure relating to the trial of
summons case?

The following are the stages to be followed in respect of procedure relating to the trial of
summons case:

Substance of accusation to be stated to the accused When in a summons cases the accused
app ears or is brought before the Magistrate, the particulars of the offence of which he is
accused shall be stated to him, and he shall be asked whether he pleads guilty or has any
defence to make, but it shall not be necessary to frame a formal charge.[ Section 251]

It is necessary that the accused should have a clear statement made to him as to the
particulars of the offence of which he is charged [Acharjee Lall (1878) 3 CLR 87] . An
accused may not be convicted even on his admission of guilt if the prosecution report does
not make out an offence under a statute. [ Purushottam Sabra v. Stat e of Orissa, 1992 Cri LJ
1417 (Ori).] Conviction on plea of guilty If the accused pleads guilty, the Magistrate shall
record the plea as nearly as possible in the words used by the accused and may, in his
discretion convict him thereon.[ Section 252]

If the accused admits some or all of the charges alleged by the prosecution but pleads “not
guilty”, the court is bound to proceed according to law by examining the witnesses of
prosecution and defence.[ Somabhai, (1907) 9 Bom LR 1346] on plea of guilty in absence of
accused in petty cases Section 253 of CrPC provides an even simpler procedure for disposing
of petty cases without the presence of accused in the court. Where the accused wants to plead
guilty without appearing in the court, the acc used is supposed to send Rs.1000/ - by post or
through a messenger (pleader) to the Magistrate.The Magistrate can on his discretion convict
the accused.
Procedure when not convicted by the Magistrate

[Hearing the Prosecution and Defence case]

If the Magistrate does not convict the accused under Section 252 or Section 253, the
Magistrate shall proceed to hear the prosecution and take all evidence as may be produced in
support of the prosecution, and also to hear the accused and take all such evidence as he
produces in his defence.[ Section 254(1) of CrPC 1973] The Magistrate may, on the
application of the prosecution, issue summons to any witness directing him to attend or
produce evidence.[ Section 254(2) of CrPC 1973]

The Magistrate is bound to examine all the witnesses and he is not empowered to limit the
number of witnesses. The Magistrate may, before summoning any witness on such
application, require that the reasonable expenses of the witness incurred in attending for the
purposes of trial be deposited in court.[ Section 254(3) of CrPC 1973]. Acquittal or
conviction If the Magistrate after considering evidence finds the accused not guilty, he shall
record an order of acquittal.[Section 255(1] He may also decide to release the offender after
admonition, or on probation of good conduct after under Section 360, or under Probation of
Offender Act,1958 after considering the nature of offence, the character of offender and
circumstances of the case.[ Section 255(2)]

A Magistrate may convict the accuse d of any offence (amenable to the trial in a summons
case) which from the facts admitted or proved the accused appears to have committed.[ R.V.
Kelkar, “Lectures on Criminal Procedure”, Fourth Edition, 2006.] This can only be done if
the Magistrate is satisfied that it would not prejudice the accused.[ Section 255(3)] If the
Magistrate, while discharging or acquitting the accused, thinks that there was no reasonable
ground for making accusation against the accused person, he may call upon the person
making such accusation to show cause as to why he should not pay compensation to the
accused person after which the Magistrate may, for reasons to be recorded, make an order
fixing the compensation to be paid by such person to the accused.[ D.M. Seth v.
Ganeshnarayan R. Podar, 1993 Cri LJ 1899(Bom)]. The court can convert a summons case
into a warrant case Section 259 of the CrPC provides that if in the course of the trial of a
summons case relating to an offence punishable with imprisonment exceeding six months, i t
appears to the Magistrate that in the interests of justice, the offence should be tried in
accordance with the procedure for trial of warrant cases, he may proceed to re -hear the case
in the manner provided by the Code for the trial of warrant cases and may even recall any
witness who may have been examined.

The words “re -hear the case” indicate that the Magistrate should commence the proceedings
from the very start or de novo.

Q2. Explain the difference between Summary and Regular trials.

Difference between Summary and Regular trials:

A summary trial is very much dissimilar to any regular trials as follows:

1. A summary trial can be conducted only for specified offences which are minor innature
whereas more complicated and serious nature of offences is tried in regulartrials.

2. In summary trials, only the substance of evidence and the disposition is briefly recorded
but in regular trials, the evidence is recorded carefully and in full.

3. No formal charge is required to be framed by Magistrate in summary trials but in regular

trials, a formal charge sheet is required to be drawn up.