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CrPC · Chapter XXV · Provisions as to accused persons of unsound mind

CrPC section 332 in the BNSS

CrPC 332BNSS 371

CrPC section 332, “Procedure on accused appearing before Magistrate or Court”, is now BNSS section 371 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From CrPC 332 to BNSS 371

Now BNSS section 371, with the same procedure.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 332 Procedure on accused appearing before Magistrate or Court

(1) If, when the accused appears or is again brought before the Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, the Magistrate or Court considers him capable of making his defence, the inquiry or trial shall proceed.

(2) If the Magistrate or Court considers the accused to be still incapable of making his defence, the Magistrate or Court shall act according to the provisions of section 328 or section 329, as the case may be, and if the accused is found to be of unsound mind and consequently incapable making his defence, shall deal with such accused in accordance with the provisions of section 330.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 371 Procedure on accused appearing before Magistrate or Court

(1) If, when the accused appears or is again brought before the Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, the Magistrate or Court considers him capable of making his defence, the inquiry or trial shall proceed.

(2) If the Magistrate or Court considers the accused to be still incapable of making his defence, the Magistrate or Court shall act according to the provisions of section 367 or section 368, as the case may be, and if the accused is found to be of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, shall deal with such accused in accordance with the provisions of section 369.

The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BNSS repealed the CrPC from 1 July 2024 (section 531(1)). Any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending immediately before that date is disposed of under the CrPC as it then stood, as if the BNSS had not come into force (section 531(2)(a)). Anything not pending on that date follows the BNSS.

Sources

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