Procedure where Court considers that case should not be dealt with under section 384
Section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with procedure where Court considers that case should not be dealt with under section 384. If the Court in any case considers that a person accused of any of the offences referred to in section 384 and committed in its view or presence should be imprisoned otherwise than in default of payment of fine, or that a fine exceeding two hundred rupees should be imposed upon him, or such Court is The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) If the Court in any case considers that a person accused of any of the offences referred to in section 384 and committed in its view or presence should be imprisoned otherwise than in default of payment of fine, or that a fine exceeding two hundred rupees should be imposed upon him, or such Court is for any other reason of opinion that the case should not be disposed of under section 384, such Court, after recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as hereinbefore provided, may forward the case to a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same, and may require security to be given for the appearance of such person before such Magistrate, or if sufficient security is not given, shall forward such person in custody to such Magistrate.
(2) The Magistrate to whom any case is forwarded under this section shall proceed to deal with, as far as may be, as if it were instituted on a police report.
Section 385, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 346 Procedure where Court considers, that case should not be dealt withunder section 345 Text carried over almost unchanged 96%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
This section refers to
Referred to by 4
- s. 386 When Registrar or Sub-Registrar to be deemed a Civil Court
- s. 387 Discharge of offender on submission of apology
- s. 388 Imprisonment or committal of person refusing to answer or produce document
- Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act s. 5 Procedure and powers of Commission
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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Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 346, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An Appellate Court cannot remand a criminal case back to the Trial Court merely for the purpose of writing a fresh judgment after considering grounds raised before the Appellate Court. Such remand violates Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The proper course available to an Appellate Court when not satisfied with the Trial Court's order is to decide the case itself or send it for retrial. Remand is permissible only in exceptional circumstances where there are serious lacunae in the trial that vitiate the entire trial, such as the need for fresh medical evidence or other critical evidence that was omitted during the original trial.
On this section: Cited by counsel for complainant-petitioner to argue that the Appellate Court cannot remand the matter for deciding it afresh
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Mohan Lal Jatia vs Registrar General
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 346, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A complaint filed by the Registrar General of the Supreme Court under Section 340 Cr.P.C. must be treated as if instituted on a police report in accordance with Section 343(1) Cr.P.C., notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter XV relating to complaint cases. Consequently, the trial shall proceed as a warrant trial case on a police report, and pre-charge evidence recording is not required when the investigating agency (CBI) has already completed its investigation and material is available on record. The procedure under Sections 245 and 246 Cr.P.C. (applicable to warrant trial cases on complaint) does not apply to such cases.
On this section: Provides that when summary trial procedure is not followed, case forwarded to Magistrate shall be dealt with as if instituted on police report
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Smt Gracy Pereira vs Parish Priest
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 346, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An interim order dismissing an application is not amenable to revisional jurisdiction under Section 378(4) CrPC, and where a party has complied with court orders for document production, allegations of willful disobedience under Section 175 IPC cannot be sustained.
On this section: Application filed under this section for alleged willful non-production of documents
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 385
What have the courts held on Section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan (28 Jul 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 346, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Cited by counsel for complainant-petitioner to argue that the Appellate Court cannot remand the matter for deciding it afresh. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2010 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 385 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 385, section 385 BNSS, section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan (28 Jul 2017).
What should I read with Section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 384 (Procedure in certain cases of contempt), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 346 (Procedure where Court considers, that case should not be dealt withunder section 345), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 385 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 385, 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 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.