UNIVERSITYINSTITUTEOF LEGAL

STUDIES
2018-2019

PROJECT REPORT

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE II
Topic -

“AUTREFOIS ACQUIT AND

AUTREFOIS CONVICT”

SUBMITTED TO- SUBMITTED BY-

Prof. Priya Pardeep Thapa
B.Com LLB(hons.)
Roll No.- 180/16
Semester- 6th

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude towards my teacher, Prof. Priya

for helping me out in the making of my “Criminal Procedure II” project titled

“ Autrefois Acquit and Autrefois Convict ” which would not have been possible

without her sincere support and co-operation. I would also like to thank my friends for

their constant moral support. At last, I am very grateful to the library staff of UILS for

providing me essential study material related to the project topic.

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 Table of contents

Page No.

1) Introduction 5-6
2) Doctrine of Autrofois Convict and Autrofois Convict in relation to CrPC, 1973 6-7
3) Analysis of Statutory Provisions 7-9
4) Exceptions to the Basic Rule 9-12
a) Exception 1 9
b) Exception 2 9
c) Exception 3 10
d) Exception 4 11
e) Exception 5 11
5) Res judicata and relevance with protection against Double Jeopardy 12-14
6) Art 20(2) vis-à-vis S. 300 of CrPC 14-16
7) Conclusion 17

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 TABLE OF CASES
Page No.
Inguva Mallikarjuna Sharma v. State of AP 8
Lal Bhanji v. State of Maharashtra 7
Mohd. Safi v. State of WB 10
Pritam Singh v. State of Punjab 11
Ram Sharma v. Panki Sharma 7
Rasul v. State of Mysore 11
Sambusivam v. Public Prosecutor, Federation of Malaya 12
State of Bombay v. S L Apte 14
State of MP v. Bireshwar Rao 11
State of TN v. Nalini 8
Yusofalli Mulla Noorbohy v. R 4

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 INTRODUCTION
Autrefois Acquit and Autrefois Convict are the French terms literally meaning “previously
acquitted” and “previously convicted” respectively. These two terms have their origin in the common
law where they are accepted as the pleas of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict and these pleas have
the effect that the trial cannot go ahead due to the special circumstances that these two pleas depict.
Actually, a plea of autrefois acquit means that a person cannot be tried again for an offense for the
reason that he has previously been acquitted in the same offense and such a plea can be taken or
combined with plea of not guilty.

Similarly, a plea of autrefois convict means that a person cannot be tried for an offense for the reason
that he has been previously been convicted in an offense and the same can be combined with the plea
of not guilty. However, these two terms are jointly known as the Doctrine of Autrefois Acquit and
Doctrine of Autrefois Convict. In, Yusofalli Mulla Noorbhoy v. R1, the court explained the
common law plea of autrifois acquit and autrifois convict. It can only be raised where the first trial
was before a court competent to pass a valid order of acquittal or conviction. Unless the earlier trial
was lawful one which might have resulted in conviction the accused was never in jeopardy. Actually,
this doctrine in a way is the rule again double jeopardy. Rule against double jeopardy means that a
person cannot be tried for the same offense once again if he has been either convicted or acquitted in
the trial relating to the same offense.

Protection against double jeopardy has been provided by many countries as a constitutional right India
being one of them. The other countries include Canada, Israel, Mexico, and U.S. However in this
project we will analyze this Doctrine of Autrefois Acquit and Autrefois Convict in special reference
to Indian context in the light of the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Constitution
of India and Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

The Constitution of India has provided this protection as a fundamental right under Article
20(2) which provides “No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offense more than
once”. The same principle has been enacted in Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897
and Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. However, these two provisions mentioned
later have formed the basis of the incorporation of the protection against double jeopardy as a
fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of our country. However, this is to be emphasized

1
AIR 1949 PC 264

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and the same will be analyzed in the later part of this project that this doctrine has not been a replicate
of the forms that exist in the Common Law and the U.S constitution. In a nutshell at this point, it can
be just said that the ambit of this doctrine in Indian context quite narrower as compared to other
systems.

This project analyses the doctrine in the light of the constitutional provisions, the provisions of
the Cr.PC, 1973, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and at the same time the difference in its ambit, the
applicability in the criminal justice system of India.

DOCTRINE OF AUTREFOIS ACQUIT AND AUTREFOIS

CONVICT IN RELATION TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CODE, 1973

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which is the major procedural law with regard to the criminal
cases has incorporated this doctrine which has been provided in Section 300 of this code. [i]

“Section 300(1) : A person who has once been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence
and convicted or acquitted of such offence shall, while such conviction or acquittal remains in force,
not be liable to be tried again for the same offence, nor on the same facts for any other offence for
which a different charge from the one made against him might have been made under sub section (1)
of section 221, or for which he might have been convicted under sub section (2) thereof.

(2) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence may be afterwards tried, with the consent of State
Government, for any distinct offence for which a separate charge might have been against him at a
former trial under sub section (1) of section 220.

(3) A person convicted of any offence constituted by any act causing consequences which together
with such act, constituted a different offence from that of which he was convicted, may be afterwards
tried for such last mentioned offence, if the consequences had not happened, or were not known to the
court to have happened, at the time when he was convicted.

(4) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence constituted by any acts may, notwithstanding such
acquittal or conviction, be subsequently charged with, and tried for, any other offence constituted by

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the same acts which he may have committed if the court by which he was first tried was not competent
to try the offence with which he is subsequently charged.

(5) A person discharged under section 258 shall not be tried again for the same offence except with
the consent of the Court by which he was discharged or of any other Court to which the first mentioned
court is subordinate.

(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897
or of section 188 of this code.”

ANALYSIS OF THE STATUTORY PROVISION

The provision was previously mentioned in Section 403 of the old code. The section lays down the
principle that a person who has been previously acquitted or convicted in any offense cannot be tried
for the same offense again i.e. rule against double jeopardy however this protection is not absolute in
nature and this thing becomes clear from the detailed analysis of Section 300. This rule is actually
based on common law maxim “nemo debet bis vexari”, that means a person shall not be brought into
danger for one and the same offense more than once. The application of this doctrine in the Indian
context is different from that in Common Law and U.S legal system. A detailed study of this section
will bring out that the conditions necessary for the application of this provision.

Section 300(1) lays down the proposition mentioned hereunder:

1. The accused has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for the same offence of one for
which he might have been charged of convicted for the facts.
2. The accused has been convicted or acquitted at the trial.
3. That such conviction or acquittal is in force.

At the same time, a person cannot be tried for an offense for which he has been convicted previously.
With regard to sub-section (1) of Section 300 the second trial of a person is barred even if it is not for
the same offense, but then if it is based on the same facts for any other offense for which a charge
might have been against him under Section 221(1) or for which he might have been convicted
under Section 221(2). Section 221(1) provides that where it is doubtful on the basis of the facts of the
case that what offense has been committed, the accused can be charged with all such offenses or any
of such offenses; or he may be in alternative charged of having committed any one of the said

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offenses. Section 221(2) provides that if the accused has been charged with one offense and it appears
from the evidence that he committed a different offense for which he might have been charged under
the provisions of sub section (1), he may be convicted with the offence which he is shown to have
committed, although he was not charged with it.

1. It was held in, Lal Bhanji v. State of Maharashtra2, that there must be the trial of the accused,
that is, hearing and determination on the merits and for the purpose of the ban to subsequent
]

trial as contemplated by Section 300(1) there should have been the trial of the accused and on
previous occasion, he must have been convicted or acquitted. If there is no trial 3 then the
subsequent trial for the same offence is not barred.
2. However the acquittal or the conviction, in order to be actual defence to the charge must be by
a court of competent jurisdiction. If the court which held the first trial was not competent to try
the charge put forward in the second trial, this section would have no application. A trial by a
court having no jurisdiction in the case is void ab initio and the accused if acquitted is liable to
be re-tried for the same offence.
3. It was held in, Ram Sharma v. Panki Sharma4, that the person must have been either
acquitted or been convicted. It is only then that a person can take the plea of this section in
order to bar the second trial for the same offense. Mere discharge of the accused does not
amount to an acquittal. A person is said to be discharged when he is relieved from the legal
proceeding by an order which does not amount to a judgment. Judgment is the final order in a
trial terminating either in conviction or acquittal of the accused. A person who is in law only
discharged may be charged again for the same offense if some other testimony is discovered
against him; however, a person who is acquitted of a charge can never be put on the trial for
the same offense. A discharge leaves the matter at large for all purposes of judicial inquiry and
there is nothing to prevent a Magistrate discharging the accused from inquiring again into the
case.
4. However in case where a judgment has been passed by a competent court either acquitting or
convicting the accused, there so long as the judgment remains in force the person so acquitted
or convicted cannot be tried again for the same offense, but where such an order or judgment
has been set aside by a Court either on appeal or revision then such a person can again be tried
for the same offense because the previous trial is annulled thereby.

2
AIR 1979 SC 94
3
Ratanlal Dhirajlal, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 18th edn, p.568
4
1989 Cr LJ 2153(Pat)

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 5. The conviction or the acquittal in the previous case cannot be a bar in the trial of the same
person for a different offense based on different facts but on the same evidence. In the case
of State of Tamil Nadu v. Nalini5, there was criminal trial for certain offenses under TADA
(now POTA), along with the other offenses under IPC. The subsequent trial for the offenses
under TADA based on the same facts was held to be barred and the conviction of the accused
in the subsequent trial was set aside.

EXCEPTIONS TO BASIC RULE:

EXCEPTION 1:

Section 300(2) contemplates a situation where a person might have been charged with and tried in
accordance with Section 220(1) of Cr.PC, 1973. In this case, the person who can be so charged may
be tried once again even after the order of the conviction or acquittal in the previous case, however
with the prior consent of the state government. Section 220(1) provides that if in one series of acts so
connected together as to form the same transaction, more offenses than one are committed by the same
person, he may be charged with and tried at one trial for, every such offense.

Where a person has been convicted of any offense and a separate charge for another offense could
have been made but was not made against him in the formal trial, he should not be liable to be tried
again for the other offense as a matter of course because this might lend itself to abuse. For this reason,
the later part of this section envisages the provision that such kind of the second trial can be made only
with the prior consent of the State Government. In, Inguva Mallikarjuna Sharma v. State of Andhra
Pradesh6, the court held that, the State Government also is supposed to give its consent after the due
consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the case and with the main intendment of the law
viz. promotion of justice.

EXCEPTION 2:

Section 300(3) envisages a situation where a person is convicted of any offense by an act causing such
consequences, that the act together with the consequences constituted a different offense from the one
for which he was convicted. In such a situation if the consequences had not happened or were not

5
AIR 1999 SC 2640
6
1978 Cr LJ 392

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known to the court at the time when such person was convicted then he may be afterward tried for
such an offense.

However, it must be noted in Section 300(3) that the words used are “a person convicted” and does
not include acquitted as in the former sub-sections. Therefore this rule does not apply where he has
been acquitted. In order to have a better understanding of this point let us take an example where ‘A’
is tried for causing grievous hurt to a person and is convicted. Later it is found that the person to whom
grievous hurt was done he died.

Here in this case, ‘A’ may be tried once again separately for the offense of culpable homicide. However
let us presume in the same example that ‘A’ was acquitted of the charge of grievous hurt, and then, in
this case, he cannot be tried once again if the person later dies, for the offense of culpable homicide
under this section. The reason for keeping the acquittal out of the purview of this section can be
logically ascertained in the sense that the section provides that later offense for which the person may
be tried, is an offense because of the consequences of the former act and the offense constituted by the
former act, being taken together. However when a person is acquitted of the former charge then it is
quite clear that he is exonerated from the liability of committing that offense, therefore how and why
should a person be tried once again for the consequences that have ensued from the act from the
liability of which he has been exonerated. This is the possible logical explanation behind the
contemplation of this section by the legislature.

EXCEPTION 3:

Section 300(4) provides that where a person has been acquitted or convicted of any offense constituted
by any acts, he may be charged with and tried again for any offence based on the same facts
notwithstanding his acquittal or conviction, if the court by which he was previously tried was not
competent to try the offense with which he is subsequently charged. To provide a better explanation
to the section let us take an example where ‘A’ is tried for robbery by a Judicial Magistrate of the first
class. However, he is later charged for the offense of dacoity based on the same facts. In this case,
since the subsequent charge of the offense of dacoity is not triable by a Judicial Magistrate of first
class and is triable only by the Court of Session, therefore the second trial of such a person irrespective
of the fact that whether he has been acquitted or convicted, will not be barred.

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In, Mohd. Safi v. State of West Bengal7, the SC held that, a trial by a court not having a jurisdiction
is void ab initio, and the accused, if acquitted, is liable to be retried. Further, the court held that not
only the court trying the case should have the jurisdiction but it should also believe to have it. An order
of acquittal passed by a court which believes (though erroneously) that it have no jurisdiction to try
the case, is a nullity and the subsequent trial for the same offence is not barred

EXCEPTION 4:

Section 300(5) contemplates a situation where a person has been discharged under Section 258 of the
Cr.PC, 1973. Section 258 provides that “in any summons-case instituted otherwise than upon
complaint, a Magistrate of the first class or, with the previous sanction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate,
any other Judicial Magistrate, may, for the reason to be recorded by him, stop the proceedings at any
stage without pronouncing any judgment and where such stoppage is made after the evidence of the
principal witness has been recorded, pronounce a judgement of acquittal, and in any other case, release
the accused, and such release shall have the effect of discharge.”

The Section 300(5) provides that where a person has been so discharged under the Section 258 he
cannot be tried once again for the same offense without the previous consent of the Court which gave
such order of discharge or of any other Court to which the former court is sub ordinate. This provision
is in order to provide a check against abuse of power of fresh prosecution especially in respect of
discharge under the said provisions thus treating it differently from discharges under other provisions
of law.

It should be noted that this section does not apply in case of discharge made in the cases which have
been instituted on a complaint. More so an order of discharge under Section 258 can never be regarded
as an acquittal for the purpose of Section 300(5)8. It can be very well be visualized in the explanation
appended to Section 300 which specifically provides that dismissal of a complaint or discharge of the
accused in not an acquittal for the purpose of this section.

EXCEPTION 5:

Section 300(6) in clear terms provides that “nothing in Section 300 shall affect the provisions
of Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 or of Section 188 of this code.” Section 26 of

7
AIR 1966 SC 69
8
Ratanlal Dhirajlal, Commentary on the Criminal Procedure Code, 18th edn(enlarged), p.993

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the General Clauses Act, 1897 provides: “Where an act or omission constitutes an offense under two
or more enactments, then the offender shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished under either or
any of those enactments, but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offense.” In Rasul
v. State of Mysore9, it was held that, if the accused was acquitted during the first trial on a specific
charge such acquittal will not prohibit a second trial on a separate charge for an offense constituted by
the same facts under a different enactment. It was held in the case of, State of M.P v. Bireshwar Rao10
that there cannot be any prohibition to a trial and conviction under Section 409 of the IPC in a case
where the accused had been tried and acquitted of an offense under Section 52 of the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1947 constituted on identical facts.

RES JUDICATA AND

RELEVANCY WITH PROTECTION
AGAINST DOUBLE JEOPARDY

The principle of res judicata or in other words principle of issue estoppel does not bar a trial rather it
is a rule of evidence according to which, where an issue of fact has been tried by a competent Court
on a former occasion and a finding has been reached in favour of the accused, such finding would
constitute an estoppel or res judicata against the prosecution, not as a bar to trial and conviction of the
accused for a distinct offence, but as precluding the reception of an evidence to disturb the finding of
the fact when the accused is tried subsequently even for a different offense which might be permitted
by law11.

The maxim “Res Judicata Pro Veritate Accipitur” signifies that when a matter has been finally resolved
by a competent court, the same matter cannot be relitigated once again. This is to be noted that this
principle has no statutory basis rather it is the creation of judicial interpretation and decisions. The rule
is different from the rule against double jeopardy in the sense that res judicata only refers to the
admissibility of evidence in a subsequent trial aimed to upset the finding of a fact reached at, by a
competent Court in a previous trial. The facts and decision in, Pritam Singh v. State of Punjab12,
could be taken as good illustration of the application of the principle of Res Judicata. In this case the
accused was charged under section 19(f), Indian Arms Act, 1878 for possessing a revolver without

9
AIR 1959 Mys 136
10
AIR 1957 SC 592
11
Kelkar,R.V, Criminal Procedure, 4th edn, p.505
12
AIR 1956 SC 415, 422

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license, and was acquitted as the prosecution could not prove that he was in possession of the revolver.
In the subsequent trial of the accused on the charge of murder, it was held that the fact of the possession
of the revolver cannot be proved against the accused person as the prosecution was bound by the earlier
decision on the point and was estopped from giving the evidence to prove the contrary. While
discussing the principle of res judicata i.e. issue-estoppel the Supreme Court has relied on the famous
observations of Lord Mac Dermott in the case of, Sambasivam v. Public Prosecutor, Federation of
Malaya13 in which he said:

“The effect of the verdict of acquittal pronounced by a competent lawful charge and a lawful
trial is not completely stated by saying that the person accused cannot be tried again for the same
offence. To that it must be added that the verdict is binding and conclusive in all subsequent
proceedings between the parties for adjudication.”

The importance of this statement by Lord Mac Dermott lies in the fact that when an acquittal is ordered
by a competent Court then it not only acts as bar to the further trial of the person so acquitted for the
same offence, at the same time the findings of the Court during the trial in which the person was
acquitted on the basis of the evidence adduced, are binding and no evidence can be given to upset the
finding of such court in any subsequent trial of the same person, however for a different offense. The
conditions for the applicability for the rule of issue estoppel are mentioned hereunder:

1. The parties in the two trials must be the same

2. The fact in issue proved or not proved must be identical with the one in the previous case

However it should be seen that the rule of issue estoppel has not got any direct statutory recognition
in connection with the Section 300 of Cr.PC, 1973 but still, it is quite significant and relevant for the
reason that this principle is related with the evidentiary aspect of the aforesaid section. A blend of
doctrine of res judicata and doctrine of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict has been provided
in Section 40 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

“The existence of any judgment, order or decree which law prevents any court from taking the
cognizance of a suit or holding a trial, is a relevant fact when the question is whether such court ought
to take cognizance of such suit or to hold such trial.” In view of the relation of this section to the
doctrine of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict it can be emphasized that where a person is tried for
an offense wherein he is either convicted or acquitted, in case of his being tried subsequently for the

13
1950 AC 458(PC)

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same offense, the evidence of the previous trial will be admissible under Section 40 to prevent such
person from being so tried.

However, regarding the benefit of the doctrine of res judicata a point to be pondered over is that it is
only the accused who has been given the benefit that he can use the findings of the competent Court
as an estoppel in his further trial. The prosecution has not been given any such freedom where a fact
found by a court against the accused in the former trial may be established by the rule of res judicata
or issue estoppel in the subsequent trial.

ARTICLE 20(2) vis-à-vis SECTION 300 of Cr.PC, 1973

The Constitution of India incorporates protection against double jeopardy by including as a

fundamental right under the Article 20(2) which provides, “No person shall be prosecuted and
punished for the same offense more than once”. This article in clear terms incorporates the rule against
double jeopardy. It should be noted that the existence of this law in India was prior to the enactment
of our Constitution in form of enactment under Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897.
However, after incorporation in the constitution, this protection has become a Constitutional guarantee
in form of a fundamental right rather than just being a statutory right. This is to be emphasized that the
rule against double jeopardy is an import from the common law system which recognizes a legal
maxim “Nemo debet bis vexari” meaning thereby a person cannot be put in peril twice for the same
offense.

More so the 5th amendment of the American Constitution declares that no person shall be put twice in
the jeopardy of life or limb. The background for the recognition of this rule as a fundamental right was
created by the already prevailing statues in India such as the Section 300 of Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (section 403 of the old code) and as already mentioned Section 26 of the General
Clauses Act, 1897. However at this point is must be emphasized at this point of time that this provision
in the Indian context is in distinction with that provided in the other statutes such as Section 300 of
Cr.PC, 1973, and General Clauses Act, and at the same time with that prevailing in the common law
countries and U.S.

As per the judicial interpretation in our country Article 20(2) incorporates only the rule of autrefois
convict and not autrefois acquit. It provides that if a person has been prosecuted and punished then he

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cannot be prosecuted for the same offense once again. The rule is in distinction with the American
provision in the sense that there irrespective of the consequence of prosecution whether it results in
the conviction or acquittal, a person cannot be tried again for the same offense. The common law
principle is also the same. However, the Article 20(2) is different in the sense that in order to bring a
case under the 20(2) to bar a second trial it must be shown that the person has been prosecuted before
a court and has been punished by it for the same offense. Both punishment and prosecution should co-
exist for Art.20 (2) to be operative. A prosecution without punishment would not bring the case within
the Article 20 (2). If a person has been prosecuted for an offense but acquitted, then he can be
prosecuted by the same offense once again and punished. The Supreme Court in the case of State of
Bombay v. S.L Apte14 has explained the legal position of the Article 20 (2):

“To operate as a bar the second prosecution and the consequential punishment thereunder, must be
for the ‘same offence’. The crucial requirement therefore for attracting the Article is that the offences
are the same, i.e. they should be identical. If however the two offences are distinct then notwithstanding
that the allegation of facts in the two complaints might be substantially similar, the benefit of the ban
cannot be invoked. It is therefore, necessary to analyze and compare not the allegations in the two
complaints but the ingredients of the two offences and see whether the identity is made out….”

Another important ingredient of Article 20 (2) is ‘prosecution’. Though not mentioned specifically, it
has been read that the prosecution must be before a court of law, or a judicial tribunal required by law
to decide matters in controversy judicially on evidence and on oath which it must be authorized by the
law to administer, and not before a tribunal which entertains a departmental or administrative inquiry,
even though set up by a statute, but not required to proceed on legal evidence given on oath15.

However, from the analysis of the constitutional provisions, it is quite clear that Article 20 (2)
contemplates only the doctrine of autrefois convict. Now when Section 300 of the Cr.PC is read in
light of the Constitutional provision under Article 20 (2) prima facie it appears to us that both the
provisions stand, though not completely but partially in contradiction with each other. Where on one
hand Article 20 (2) provides a bar to the second trial only in case of previous conviction, Section
300 of Cr.PC prima facie contemplates a situation where the second trial of a person will be barred for
the same offense for either reason i.e. convicted or acquitted.

14
AIR 1961 SC 578
15
Jain, M.P, Indian Constitutional law, 5th edn, p.1062

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All the subsections of Section 300 except sub section 3 specifically lay down that both conviction and
acquittal act as a bar to the subsequent trial of the same person in various circumstances. In such a
situation I find the statutory provision of Cr.PC and the Constitutional mandate in conflict with each
other. However, this is known that in any circumstance any Constitutional provision will prevail over
other statutes. More so a possible reason that I am able to figure out is the time gap between the
enactments of the statutory provision of Cr.PC and that of the Constitutional provision. No doubt the
principles of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict which were pre-existing in the old Cr.PC as well as
the General Clauses Act, 1897 formed the basis for incorporation of this as a fundamental right when
the Constitution was enacted in India, though with some reservations which limit the ambit and scope
of the doctrines.

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 CONCLUSION
The doctrine of Autrefois acquit and Autrefois convict has been included as a fundamental right in our
Constitution, though the purview of the doctrine is narrower than in other statutes like Cr.PC, General
Clauses Act, and that in other countries like U.K, U.S. However it is clear that in such circumstances
the Constitution shall prevail. To conclude it can be said that this doctrine is a safeguard and acts as a
valve against the unlawful prosecution of a person for the same offense for the second time. The pleas
of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict are one of the preliminary pleas to bar any trial. As we have
already analyzed in the whole project that the rule of issue estoppel is also related to the doctrine but
even then this rule has not been incorporated in the code as it was thought to be not advisable to do so
at present. According to the law commission our Supreme Court and High Court have not had proper
opportunity yet of considering all the implications of the rule and any hasty legislation may by its
rigidity create difficulties.

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 Bibliography
 Ratanlal Dhirajlal: Criminal Procedure Code, 18th Ed, 2006, Wadhwa and Co.
Nagpur.
 K N Chandershekharan Pillai(ed): R V Kelka’s Criminal Procedure, 5th Ed. 2008,
eastern book Company, Lucknow.
 Dr. M P Jain: Indian Constitutional Law 5th Ed, (Lexis Nexis, Butterworths, 2002)

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