CRPC328
CrPC to BNSS

Procedure in case of accused being lunatic

Close, with changes 78% Repealed 01 Jul 2024

CRPC 328 (Procedure in case of accused being lunatic) corresponds most closely to BNSS 367, Procedure in case of accused being person of unsound mind, on a text comparison scoring 78 per cent. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was repealed with effect from 01 Jul 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Repealed · Code of Criminal Procedure

Section 328 Procedure in case of accused being lunatic

(1) When a Magistrate holding an inquiry has reason to believe that the person against whom the inquiry is being held is of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, the Magistrate shall inquire into the fact of such unsoundness of mind, and shall cause such person to be examined by the civil surgeon of the district or such other medical officer as the State Government may direct, and thereupon shall examine such surgeon or other officer as a witness, and shall reduce the examination to writing.

(2) Pending such examination and inquiry, the Magistrate may deal with such person in accordance with the provisions of section 330.

(3) If such Magistrate is of opinion that the person referred to in sub-section (1) is of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, he shall record a finding to that effect and shall postpone further proceedings in the case.

In force · Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

Section 367 Procedure in case of accused being person of unsound mind

(1) When a Magistrate holding an inquiry has reason to believe that the person against whom the inquiry is being held is a person of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, the Magistrate shall inquire into the fact of such unsoundness of mind, and shall cause such person to be examined by the civil surgeon of the district or such other medical officer as the State Government may direct, and thereupon shall examine such surgeon or other medical officer as a witness, and shall reduce the examination to writing.

(2) If the civil surgeon finds the accused to be a person of unsound mind, he shall refer such person to a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist of Government hospital or Government medical college for care, treatment and prognosis of the condition and the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, as the case may be, shall inform the Magistrate whether the accused is suffering from unsoundness of mind or intellectual disability:

Provided that if the accused is aggrieved by the information given by the psychiatric or clinical psychologist, as the case may be, to the Magistrate, he may prefer an appeal before the Medical Board which shall consist of---

(a) head of psychiatry unit in the nearest Government hospital; and

(b) a faculty member in psychiatry in the nearest Government medical college.

(3) Pending such examination and inquiry, the Magistrate may deal with such person in accordance with the provisions of section 369.

(4) If the Magistrate is informed that the person referred to in sub-section (2) is a person of unsound mind, the Magistrate shall further determine whether the unsoundness of mind renders the accused incapable of entering defence and if the accused is found so incapable, the Magistrate shall record a finding to that effect, and shall examine the record of evidence produced by the prosecution and after hearing the advocate of the accused but without questioning the accused, if he finds that no prima facie case is made out against the accused, he shall, instead of postponing the enquiry, discharge the accused and deal with him in the manner provided under section 369:

Provided that if the Magistrate finds that a prima facie case is made out against the accused in respect of whom a finding of unsoundness of mind is arrived at, he shall postpone the proceeding for such period, as in the opinion of the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, is required for the treatment of the accused, and order the accused to be dealt with as provided under section 369.

(5) If the Magistrate is informed that the person referred to in sub-section (2) is a person with intellectual disability, the Magistrate shall further determine whether the intellectual disability renders the accused incapable of entering defence, and if the accused is found so incapable, the Magistrate shall order closure of the inquiry and deal with the accused in the manner provided under section 369.

Other provisions with similar text

The next closest matches, in order. Where a provision was split or merged, the answer is often more than one of these.

How this table was made, and what it is not

There is no official machine-readable correspondence between the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Ministry published comparison charts for human readers; nothing exists that a computer can check. So this is not an official mapping and we do not present it as one.

What it measures is how alike the text of two provisions is. For each provision of the old enactment we compare its words against every provision of the new one and report the closest, with the score. That works here because the new codes are largely a renumbering rather than a rewrite: where a provision carried over near-verbatim the match is self-evidencing, and you can see it for yourself, because both texts are set out side by side on every entry.

Where the law genuinely changed, the score falls and the entry says no close match found rather than offering a guess. Those entries matter: they are where the reform actually did something.

Check before you cite. A high score means the words are alike, not that a court has held the provisions equivalent. For that, read both texts and the Gazette.

Full CrPC to BNSS table

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. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.