HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND THE FEATURES OF CRIMINAL

PROCEDURE CODE, 1973.

The Code of Criminal Procedure commonly called Criminal Procedure Code

(CrPC) is the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive
criminal law in India. It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974.
It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected
criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the
accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty. It also deals
with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and
parents. The Criminal Procedure Code is applicable in the whole of India. At
present, the act contains 484 sections, 2 schedules and 56 forms. The sections are
divided into 37 chapters. The entire code is divided into two stages; (1) Pre-trial
Process, which includes investigation; section 1 to 199 of Cr.P.C and (2) Trial
Process; which includes Inquiry and Trial; section 200 to 484 of Cr.P.C.

The purpose of development of Criminal Procedure Code was to reform the non-
unified and scattered criminal system in India. The code of criminal procedure
determines the method through which the police, the investigating authorities,
prosecution along with magistrates and judges will perform from after the very
moment of the occurrence of the offence to the trail with provisions related to
appeal, acquittal and conviction.

In medieval India, subsequent to the law set by the Muslims, the Mohammedan
Criminal Law came into prevalence. The British rulers passed the Regulating Act
of 1773 under which a Supreme Court was established in Calcutta and later on at
Madras and in Bombay. The Supreme Court was to apply British procedural law
while deciding the cases of the Crown's subjects. After the Rebellion of 1857, the
crown took over the administration in India. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1861
was passed by the British parliament. The CrPC was created for the first time ever
in 1882 and then amended in 1898, then according to the 41st Law Commission
report in 1973. In the olden days, there was no uniform law relating to criminal
procedure for the whole of India. There were separate Acts, mostly rudimentary in
their character, for the Courts within and outside the Presidency-towns. Later on,
the Acts in force in the Presidency-towns were consolidated into the Criminal
Procedure Supreme Court Act, 1852, subsequently replaced by the High Court
Criminal Procedure Act, 1865. It lays down the procedure for investigation,
inquiry and trial of all offences that fall under the Indian Penal Code 1860 and
other criminal laws. It lays down the parameters for exercising draconian powers
of arrest, summons, warrants and search and seizure. It creates the entire hierarchy
of criminal justice system, complete with investigators, prosecutors, magistrates
and separate trial courts for minor and heinous offences. It prescribes the offences
that police can take cognizance of and effect arrests without a warrant. Since the
police cannot register FIRs in connection with non-cognizable offences (such as
defamation), CrPC provides the remedies that are available in such cases. It also
enlists safeguards like the stipulations that an arrested person has to be produced
before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours and that a seizure is valid only if it is
made in the presence of independent witnesses.

During the initial years of colonial rule, East India company did not have its owns
courts. Civil and Criminal justice was under the rulers of different provinces.
Some Indian states even had different courts for different religious, but after the
British conquest of Bengal, the system started become more uniform. In the last
decade of the 18th century, Lord Cornwallis made changes in the criminal justice
system and British judges replaced their Indian counterparts in Fauzdari Adalats.
As the Raj expanded, courts were established in different parts of India.

The code of criminal procedure was enacted for the first time in 1861 as part of a
series of criminal law reforms undertaken by the Raj in the wake of the 1857
mutiny. That the 1861 CrPC was designed to rein in rebellious natives was evident
from the immunity it conferred on whites from the criminal jurisdiction of district
courts. Only high courts could then try European British subjects. In an
incremental reform, the next version of CrPC enacted in 1872 provided that a
magistrate could try a European British subject if he was himself one. The next
landmark in codification was the 1882 CrPC which empowered Indian magistrates
too to exercise jurisdiction over whites but they could do so only in presidency
towns.

The CrPC of 1898 contained further reforms towards providing a uniform law of
criminal procedure for the whole of India. The British legacy in this respect was
carried on by independent India till CrPC was recast again in 1973, yielding the
present code. There have since been at least seven major amendments to the code.
The numerous Acts prevailing in the mofussils were all absorbed in the Criminal
Procedure Code, 1861, which was subsequently replaced by the Code of 1871. The
Criminal Procedure Code, 1882, gave a uniform law of procedure for the whole of
India, both in the Presidency-towns and in the mofussils, and it was supplemented
by the Code of 1898. The last mentioned Code was amended several times, with
major amendments in 1923 and 1955. The Law Commission, set up in 1955,
studied the old Code extensively, and made various recommendations and
suggestions in its detailed report submitted in September 1969. These suggestions
were incorporated in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, which came into force on
1st April 1974, and which has since been amended several times thereafter. While
drafting the Code, the following three basic considerations have been kept in mind,
viz.—
(a) That an accused person should get a fair trial in accordance with the accepted
principles of natural justice;
(b) That every effort should be made to avoid delay in investigation and trial,
which is harmful, not only to the individual involved, but also to the society;
(c) That the procedure should not be complicated, and should, to the utmost extent
possible, ensure a fair deal to the poorer sections of the community.
Apart from the above, the Parliament has taken the spirit of the Constitution of
India, especially, Articles 14, 19, 20 and 21

While the Indian Penal Code,1860 represents the substantive part of criminal law,
the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 portrays the procedural aspects of criminal
justice administration. Substantive Law without procedural remedy is a barren land
and Procedural Law bereft of substantive right is cultivation without crop. The
Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 derives its legitimacy and authority primarily
from the constitutional trident of Art-20,21 and 22. It is hailed as Secular and
Uniform in its application irrespective of race, religion, caste, color and domicile
within the territory of India, taking the spirit of the Constitution under Articles
14,16 and 19.

Features of the CrPc 1973

1. The Cr.P.C. contains 484 Sections and XXXVII Chapters. The Cr.P.C.
describes that all offences in Indian Penal Code 1860 shall be investigated,
inquired into, tried unless it is otherwise dealt. However, Cr.P.C. does not
affect any special law, local law or any special jurisdiction or power or
procedure provided in any other law. Some basic features of Cr.P.C. are
described below.

2. ORGANIZATION OF CRIMINAL COURTS:

The Cr.P.C. provides a uniform set of criminal courts throughout the
territory of India by conferring jurisdiction, powers and functions. The
Cr.P.C. mandates separation of judiciary from the executive, which enables
the state to work with independently and impartially without interference of
any other organs of the State.

3. FAIR TRIAL:
Under Cr.P.C. every person is entitled to fair trial and hearing by an
independent and impartial Tribunal. The accused is presumed to be innocent,
until the charges are proved. The accused has right to be represented by his
counsel. Further, the accused has a right to cross-examine the witnesses of
the opposite party.

4. PROTECTION TO THE ACCUSED PERSON

Special provisions have been made to protect the interest of the accused
person. The Supreme Court also gave some important guidelines with
respect to the rights of the accused person in D.K.BASU V. STATE OF
WEST BENGAL, AIR 1997 SC 610.
5. SPECIAL PROVISION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE
ACCUSED PERSON:
Free legal aid provision is made if the accused person is poor and cannot
afford the costs of the litigation. In petty cases the accused can even plead
guilty by post and send the amount of fine specified in the summons to the
court, therefore he need not appear before the court.

6. JUDICIAL MAGISTRATES ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF

HIGH COURTS:
All Judicial Magistrates shall work under the control of High Courts of the
respective states. The Judicial Magistrates in Metropolitan cities are named
as Metropolitan Magistrates. The Cr.P.C. abolished the appointing of
honorary Magistrates and Justices of peace.

7. TRIAL PROCEDURE: Procedure for trial of summary cases shall be the

same as that for summons cases except where it is provided otherwise. The
Court of Sessions also have been given power to exercise the revisory
jurisdiction in addition to the High Courts. An appeal by the state against the
order of the acquittal can be filed only after obtaining the leave of the High
Court. In case of adjournments, costs may be awarded against the party
seeking adjournment including the prosecution.

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