Subject: Code of Criminal Procedur-I

B.A.LL.B-VIIIth Sem
Subject Teacher: Dr. Md. Junaid
Teaching Material of Unit-IV-(C)
Topic: Commencement of Proceedings Before Court-Sections 204 to 2010 CRPC

Commencement of Proceedings Before Court-Sections 204 to 2010 CRPC

After taking of cognizance of any complaint by the Court, the complaint is either admitted under
section 200 crpc or dismissed under section 203 crpc. If the complaint is admitted by the court
then the court shall commence the proceeding in respect of the concerned complaint under
sections 204-210 of CRPC.

Issue of Process- Section 204

(1) If in the opinion of a Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence there is sufficient

ground for proceeding, and the case appears to be-
(a) a summons-case, he shall issue his summons for the attendance of the accused, or
(b) a warrant-case, he may issue a warrant, or, if he thinks fit, a summons, for causing the
accused to be brought or to appear at a certain time before such Magistrate or (if he has
no jurisdiction himself) some other Magistrate having jurisdiction.

(2) No summons or warrant shall be issued against the accused under sub-section (1) until a list
of the prosecution witnesses has been filed.

(3) In a proceeding instituted upon a complaint made in writing, every summons or warrant
issued under sub-section (1) shall be accompanied by a copy of such complaint.

(4) When by any law for the time being in force any process-fees or other fees are payable, no
process shall be issued until the fees are paid and, if such fees are not paid within a reasonable
time, the Magistrate may dismiss the complaint.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the provisions of section 87.
Section 204 of this act provides the Magistrate power to issue a process if it is found that there
are sufficient grounds for carrying out the proceeding. The Magistrate can issue a summons if
it’s a summons case. A warrant is issued in case of a warrant case. The Magistrate can also issue
summons to the accused in order to make him appear before the Magistrate concerned within a
certain date. No process shall be issued by the Magistrate if there are any arrears in the payment
of “process-fee” until the fee is paid within a reasonable time. No summons or warrants can be
issued against the accused until a list of the prosecution witness has been provided. This section
will not affect the provisions provided in Section 87 of the act. Section 87 enables the Magistrate
to issue a warrant of arrest whenever it is necessary under this section.

In Uma Kant Pandey vs A.C.J.M. Banda (2015) the Court held that A summoning order passed
by Magistrate under section 204 of the Code cannot necessarily be treated to be an interlocutory
order thereby completely barring a revision against the same in view of the bar under section
397(2) of the Code The test to examine whether such an order is an interlocutory order or not is
that if the decision against such an order finally terminates the criminal proceedings, it would not
be treated as an interlocutory order On the other hand if decision given either way would still
allow the proceedings to go on then the order would not be a final order but an interlocutory
order and then a revision against such an order would be barred under section 397(2) of the
Code.

In Awadhesh Prasad Singh alias Awadhesh Prasad Sharma v State of Bihar, (1997) it was held
that Even after issue of process in summons case the accused can plead of absence of any triable
case against him and the Magistrate, on being satisfied on reconsideration of the complaint, has
discretionary power to order, dropping of the proceedings against the accused.

In Orient Syntex Ltd v Besant Capital Tech Ltd, (2000) court held that accused are responsible
for the conduct of business the necessary requirement issue process against the company is
fulfilled Rejection of recalling of process issued against petitioner is proper.

Magistrate May Dispense With Personal Attendance Of Accused-Section 205

(1) Whenever a Magistrate issues a summons, he may, if he sees reason so to do, dispense
with the personal attendance of the accused and permit him to appear by his pleader.
(2) But the Magistrate inquiring into or trying the case may, in his discretion, at any stage of the
proceedings, direct the personal attendance of the accused, and, if necessary, enforce such
attendance in the manner hereinbefore provided.

Section 205 provides the Magistrate powers to dispense the personal attendance of the accused in
certain situations. The Magistrate can dispense the personal attendance of the accused and permit
him to appear by his pleader if there are proper reasons. The Magistrate can also direct the
personal attendance of the accused in any stage of the investigation if it is necessary. The
exemption from personal appearance cannot be claimed as a right but it is completely under the
discretion of the court after applying relevant judicial principles. The Magistrate considers
various factors to dispense attendance like:

1. Social status.

2. Customs and practice.

3. The distance at which the accused resides.

4. The necessity of personal attendance with regards to the offence and the stages of the
trail.

Special Summons In Cases Of Petty Offence-Section 206

(1) If, in the opinion of a Magistrate taking cognizance of a petty offence, the case may be
summarily disposed of under section 260, the Magistrate shall, except where he is, for
reasons to be recorded in writing of a contrary opinion, issue summons to the accused
requiring him either to appear in person or by pleader before the Magistrate on a
specified date, or if he desires to plead guilty to the charge without appearing before the
Magistrate, to transmit before the specified date, by post or by messenger to the
Magistrate, the said plea in writing and the amount of fine specified in the summons or if
he desires to appear by pleader and to plead guilty to the charge through such pleader, to
authorise, in writing, the pleader to plead guilty to the charge on his behalf and to pay the
fine through such pleader:
 Provided that the amount of the fine specified in such summons shall not exceed one hundred
rupees.

(2) For the purposes of this section, “petty offence” means any offence punishable only with fine
not exceeding one thousand rupees, but does not include any offence so punishable under the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1931, or under any other law which provides for convicting the accused
person in his absence on a plea of guilty.

(3) The State Government may, by notification, specially empower any Magistrate to exercise
the powers conferred by sub-section (1) in relation to any offence which is compoundable
under section 320 or any offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three
months, or with fine or with both where the Magistrate is of opinion that, having regard to the
facts and circumstances of the case, the imposition of fine only would meet the ends of justice.
The Magistrate can issue some special summons in cases of petty offences according to Section
206 (2) For the purposes of this section,” petty offence” means any offence punishable only with
a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, but does not include any offence so punishable under
the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 or under any other law which provides for convicting the accused
person in his absence on a plea of guilty. When a Magistrate takes cognizance of petty offences
the case can be summarily dismissed according to Section 260, but sometimes the Magistrate
will send the summons for the person to appear in person or by pleader when it is needed. The
reason for such a decision has to be recorded.

Supply to the Accused of Copy Of Police Report And Other Documents- Section 207

In any case where the proceeding has been instituted on a police report, the Magistrate shall
without delay furnish to the accused, free of cost, a copy of each of the following:

1. the police report;

2. the first information report recorded under section 154;

3. the statements recorded under Sub-Section (3) of section 161 of all persons whom the
prosecution proposes to examine as its witnesses, excluding therefrom any part in regard
to which a request for such exclusion has been made by the police officer under Sub-
Section (6) of section 173;
 4. the confessions and statements, if any, recorded under section 164;

5. any other document or relevant extract thereof forwarded to the Magistrate with the
police report under Sub-Section (5) of section 173:

Provided that the Magistrate may, after perusing any such pan of a statement as is referred to
in clause (iii) and considering the reasons given by the police officer for the request, direct
that a copy of that part of the statement or of such portion thereof as the Magistrate thinks
proper, shall be furnished to the accused:

Provided further that if the Magistrate is satisfied that any document referred to in clause (v)
is voluminous, he shall, instead of furnishing the accused with a copy thereof, direct that he
will only be allowed to inspect it either personally or through pleader in Court.

It is essential to supply relevant documents to the accused so that they can understand the
procedure followed and the status of the case. The documents supplied might also be used for
future reference whenever necessary. The main need behind providing such documents is to
avoid prejudice during the trial. The non-supply of materials by the Magistrate that is provided
in Section 207 can be successfully used for setting aside a conviction.

Section 207 provides that the Magistrate has to provide certain copies of documents to the person
accused when the proceedings are instituted on a police report. The documents must be provided
free of cost. The necessary documents that have to be provided are:

1. The police report;

2. The First Information Report(FIR) which is recorded under Section 154;

3. The statements which are recorded Sub-section (3) of Section 161 of all persons whom
the prosecution proposes to examine as its witnesses;

4. The confessions and statements that are recorded under Section 164 if available;

5. Any other relevant document which is forwarded to the Magistrate with the police report.

In the case of Viniyoga International New Delhi v. State(1984), it was said that the accused is
entitled to get copies of statements that are recorded under Section 161 and of the documents
sought to be relied on by the prosecution. It was also said that it is mandatory to provide copies
of challan to the accused. This section does not deal with how to handle the situation when some
of the witnesses are not examined, but only provides furnishing of statements of the persons
examined.

Supply Of Copies Of Statements And Documents To Accused In Other Cases Triable By Court
Of Session-Section 208

Where, in a case instituted otherwise than on a police report, it appears to the Magistrate issuing
process under section 204 that the offence is triable exclusively by the Court of Session, the
Magistrate shall without delay furnish to the accused, free of cost, a copy of each of the
following-
(i) the statements recorded under section 200 or section 202, or all persons examined by the
Magistrate;
(ii) the statements and confessions, if any, recorded under section 161 or section 164;
(iii) any documents produced before the Magistrate on which the prosecution proposes to rely:

Provided that if the Magistrate is satisfied that any such document is voluminous, he shall,
instead of furnishing the accused with a copy thereof, direct that he will only be allowed to
inspect it either personally or through pleader in Court.

Commitment Of Case To Court Of Session When Offence Is Triable Exclusively By It- Section
209

When in a case instituted on a police report or otherwise, the accused appears or is brought
before the Magistrate and it appears to the Magistrate that the offence is triable exclusively by
the Court of Session, he shall-

1. commit, after complying with the provisions of section 207 or section 208, as the case
may be, the case to the Court of Session, and subject to the provisions of this Code
relating to bail, remand the accused to custody until such commitment has been made;

2. subject to the provisions of this Code relating to bail, remand the accused to custody
during, and until the conclusion of, the trial;
 3. send to that Court the record of the case and the documents and articles, if any, which are
to be produced in evidence;

4. notify the Public Prosecutor of the commitment of the case to the Court of Session.

Section 209 deals with the commitment of the case to the Court of Session. According to this
section if a Magistrate feels that if the offence is triable exclusively by the Court of Session after
instituting a case, then,

1. The Magistrate can commit the case to the Court of Session;

2. The accused can be remanded in custody until the proceedings are subject to the other
provisions relating to bail;

3. The Magistrate can send evidence and other relevant evidence to the concerned court to
carry out the proceedings;

4. The Magistrate can also notify the Public Prosecutor of the commitment of the case to the
Court of Session.

In Bhola Rai v State of Bihar, (1997) it was held by the court that It is well settled that the
Magistrate is forbidden to apply his mind to the merit of the matter and determine as to whether
any accused need be added or subtracted to face trial before the Court of session. The court
further observed that the Magistrate has no option but to commit the case to the Court of Session
only in respect of those persons who have been chargesheeted.

In Kavita (Smt) v State, (2000) court held that when the offence made out under section 376
triable by Session Court discharge of accused under section 209 Cr P illegal.

Procedure To Be Followed When There Is A Complaint Case And Police Investigation In

Respect Of The Same Offence- Section 210

1. When in a case instituted otherwise than on a police report (hereinafter referred to as a

complaint case), it is made to appear to the Magistrate, during the course of the inquiry or
trial held by him, that an investigation by the police is in progress in relation to the
offence which is the subject-matter of the inquiry or trial held by him, the Magistrate
 shall stay the proceedings of such inquiry or trial and call for a report on the matter from
the police officer conducting the investigation.

2. If a report is made by the investigating police officer under section 173 and on such
report cognizance of any offence is taken by the Magistrate against any person who is an
accused in the complaint case, the Magistrate shall inquire into or try together the
complaint case and the case arising out of the police report as if both the cases were
instituted on a police report.

3. If the police report does not relate to any accused in the complaint case or if the
Magistrate does not take cognizance of any offence on the police report, he shall proceed
with the inquiry or trial, which was stayed by him, in accordance with the provisions of
this Code.

Section 210 deals with the procedures to be followed when there is a consolidation of cases
instituted on a police report and on a complaint. The Magistrate can stay the proceedings of any
inquiry or trial and call for a report on the matter from the police officer conducting the
investigation if it is done in the same subject of inquiry. If the police report does not relate to any
accused in the case or if the Magistrate does not take cognizance of any offence on the police
report, he shall proceed with the inquiry or trial, which was stayed by him, according to other
provisions in the code. If a report is made by the investigating police officer according to Section
173 and based on such report cognizance of any offence is taken by the Magistrate against any
person who is accused, then the Magistrate shall inquire into or try together both the complaint
case and the case arising out of the police report as if both the cases were instituted on a police
report.

In Birendra Kumar v State of Bihar, (2000) the court held that filing of complaint case and FIR
lodged simultaneously Magistrate empowered to stay complaint call for report on police officer
and tried together was proper.

This chapter dealing with commencement of proceedings before court is very essential as it
deals with the commencement of proceedings in a particular complaint after its being admitted
by the Magistrate under section 200 Crpc. The provisions in this chapter have to be followed
properly so that it regulates the other stages of the proceedings. The issue of proceedings is one
of the important procedures in conducting a criminal investigation. The supply of copies of
documents to the accused relating to the proceedings is also necessary. Thus, the provisions of
this chapter have to be followed carefully so that it will not affect the other parts of the
proceedings.

Probable Questions

1. Explain in detail the rule regarding commencement of Proceedings before court

2. Explain briefly the following:
i. Rules regarding Issuing a summons or warrant
ii. Rules regarding dispensation with the personal attendance of the accused
iii. Rules Regarding summons in cases of petty offences
iv. Rules Regarding Consolidation of cases under section 210 CRPC