Resumption of inquiry or trial
Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with resumption of inquiry or trial. Whenever an inquiry or a trial is postponed under section 367 or section 368, the Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, may at any time after the person concerned has ceased to be of unsound mind, resume the inquiry or trial and require the accused to appear or be brought before such Magistrate o The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) Whenever an inquiry or a trial is postponed under section 367 or section 368, the Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, may at any time after the person concerned has ceased to be of unsound mind, resume the inquiry or trial and require the accused to appear or be brought before such Magistrate or Court.
(2) When the accused has been released under section 369, and the sureties for his appearance produce him to the officer whom the Magistrate or Court appoints in this behalf, the certificate of such officer that the accused is capable of making his defence shall be receivable in evidence.
Section 370, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 331 Resumption of inquiry or trial Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Pinku Singh vs The State of Bihar
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 331, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An accused charged with serious offences including murder may be granted bail under Section 330 Cr.P.C. when the accused is suffering from mental illness rendering him unfit to stand trial, provided that: (1) the accused has been in prolonged judicial custody without trial progress due to mental unfitness; (2) the trial court has assessed and confirmed the mental unfitness; (3) appropriate conditions are imposed including family undertakings for medical treatment, regular progress reports, and undertaking to produce the accused upon recovery for trial continuation; and (4) the bail conditions are designed to ensure both the accused's rehabilitation and eventual trial fairness.
On this section: Referenced as part of provisions applicable to mentally ill persons in criminal procedure
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Hamid @ Kaliya vs State
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 331, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a trial is postponed under Section 329 CrPC on the ground of incapacity of the accused to make his defence due to unsound mind, and is subsequently resumed under Section 331 CrPC, the trial must commence de novo and not continue from the point of postponement. Furthermore, resumption of such trial without recording medical evidence establishing that the accused has ceased to be of unsound mind and is now capable of making his defence will vitiate the entire trial. Additionally, the mental unsoundness of one co-accused during trial, which affects the recording of evidence and the entire complexion of the case, will vitiate the trial of other co-accused as well.
On this section: Resumption of inquiry or trial - Governs how trial should be resumed after accused ceases to be of unsound mind; requires de novo commencement
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 370
What have the courts held on Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Pinku Singh vs The State of Bihar (05 Oct 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 331, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Referenced as part of provisions applicable to mentally ill persons in criminal procedure. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2006 to 2016.
How do I find court cases under Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 370, section 370 BNSS, section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 370 section. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Pinku Singh vs The State of Bihar (05 Oct 2016).
What should I read with Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 367 (Procedure in case of accused being person of unsound mind), section 368 (Procedure in case of person of unsound mind tried before Court), section 369 (Release of person of unsound mind pending investigation or trial), so none of them can safely be read on its own. It carries forward CrPC 331 (Resumption of inquiry or trial), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 370 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 370, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.