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Section31
Crpc 1973

Sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial

Repealed Act 2 of 1974 As on 18 Oct 2026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 Rajasthan'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 31 of Crpc 1973 deals with sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial. When a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences, the Court may, subject to the provisions of section 71 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), sentence him for such offences, to the several punishments prescribed therefor which such Court is competent to inflict;

(1) When a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences, the Court may, subject to the provisions of section 71 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), sentence him for such offences, to the several punishments prescribed therefor which such Court is competent to inflict; such punishments when consisting of imprisonment to commence the one after the expiration of the other in such order as the Court may direct, unless the Court directs that such punishments shall run concurrently.

(2) In the case of consecutive sentences, it shall not be necessary for the Court by reason only of the aggregate punishment for the several offences being in excess of the punishment which it is competent to inflict on conviction of a single offence, to send the offender for trial before a higher Court:

Provided that- (a) in no case shall such person be sentenced to imprisonment for a longer period than fourteen years;

(b) the aggregate punishment shall not exceed twice the amount of punishment which the Court is competent to inflict for a single offence.

(3) For the purpose of appeal by a convicted person, the aggregate of the consecutive sentences passed against him under this section shall be deemed to be a single sentence.

Section 31, Crpc 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

  1. Indian Penal Code s. 71 Limit of punishment of offence made up of several offences

Questions about Section 31

What does Section 31 of the Crpc 1973 deal with?

Section 31 of the Crpc 1973 is headed "Sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial". When a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences, the Court may, subject to the provisions of section 71 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), sentence him for such offences, to the several punishments prescribed therefor which such Court is competent to inflict;

How do I find court cases under Section 31 of the Crpc 1973?

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: CRPC 1973 31, section 31 CRPC 1973, section 31 of the Crpc 1973. 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 31 of the Crpc 1973, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on Indian Penal Code 71 (Limit of punishment of offence made up of several offences), so none of them can safely be read on its own.

When was the Crpc 1973 enacted?

Crpc 1973 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

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/d6704d19-8614-4131-9317-7b9b9809d0c5.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/e65f6054-803f-42a5-9f41-bd7fbeabcb51/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.