Accused person to be competent witness

Repealed Act 2 of 1974 As on 17 Oct 2026

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so the text below was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Act 2 of 1974

This is a second copy of a Central Act. India Code files it on Tripura's shelf as well as under Parliament, and the text is the same enactment. Read it at The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which is the record this site keeps current.

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so this text was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Section 315 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with accused person to be competent witness. Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial: Provided that- (a) he shall not be called as a witness except on

(1) Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial:
Provided that- (a) he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing;
(b) his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him that the same trial.
(2) Any person against whom proceedings are instituted in any Criminal Court under section 98, or section 107 1. Ins. by Act 5 of 2009, s. 22 (w.e.f. 31-12-2009). or section 108, or section 109, or section 110, or under Chapter IX or under Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter X, may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings:
Provided that in proceedings under section 108, section 109, or section 110, the failure of such person to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against him or any other person proceeded against together with him at the same inquiry.
Section 315, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

Questions about Section 315

What does Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deal with?

Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is headed "Accused person to be competent witness". Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial: Provided that- (a) he shall not be called as a witness except on

How do I find court cases under Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?

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: Code Criminal Procedure 1973 315, section 315 Code Criminal Procedure 1973, section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 98 (Power to compel restoration of abducted females), section 107 (Security for keeping the peace in other cases), section 108 (Security for good behaviour from persons disseminating seditious matters), section 109 (Security for good behaviour from suspected persons), and on 1 further provision, so none of them can safely be read on its own.

When was the Code of Criminal Procedure enacted?

Code of Criminal Procedure was enacted in 1974 as Act 2 of 1974. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is no longer in force.

Other sections of this Act

484. Repeal and savings25668 words
320. Compounding of offences1341 words
164. Recording of confessions and statements1157 words
167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1101 words
437. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence999 words
220. Trial for more than one offence959 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. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/65ae197e-06e1-4b83-a2c4-79fffb837967.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/3476c537-83fa-4339-9917-27dac92cae0d/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.