Prosecution for defamation
Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with prosecution for defamation. No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Chapter XXI of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) except upon a complaint made by some person aggrieved by the offence: Provided that where such person is under the age of eighteen years, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is from sickness o The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Chapter XXI of the Indian
Penal Code (45 of 1860) except upon a complaint made by some person aggrieved by the offence:
Provided that where such person is under the age of eighteen years, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is from sickness or infirmity unable to make a complaint, or is a woman who, according to the local customs and manners, ought not to be compelled to appear in public, some other person may, with the leave of the Court make a complaint on his or her behalf.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Code, when any offence falling under Chapter XXI of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is alleged to have been committed against a person who at the time of such commission, is the President of India, the Vice-President of India, the Governor of a State, the Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister of the Union or of a State or of a Union territory, or any other public servant employed in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions a Court of Session may take cognizance of such offence, without the case being committed to it, upon a complaint in writing made by the Public Prosecutor.
(3) Every complaint referred to in sub-section (2) shall set forth the facts which constitute the offence alleged, the nature of such offence and such other particulars as are reasonably sufficient to give notice to the caused of the offence alleged to have been committed by him.
1 Ins. by Act 46 of 1983, s.5.
(4) No complaint Under sub-section (2) shall be made by the Public Prosecutor except with the previous sanction-
(a) of the State Government, in the case of a person who is or has been the Governor of that State or a Minister of that Government ;
(b) of the State Government, in the case of any other public servant employed in connection with the affairs of the State;
(c) of the Central Government, in any other case.
(5) No Court of Session shall take cognizance of an offence under sub-section (2) unless the complaint is made within six months from the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of the person against whom the offence is alleged to have been committed, to make a complaint in respect of that offence before a Magistrate having jurisdiction or the power of such Magistrate to take cognizance of the offence upon such complaint.
CHAP
COMPLAINTS TO MAGISTRATES
CHAPTER XV
COMPLAINTS TO MAGISTRATES
Section 199, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 222 Prosecution for defamation Text carried over almost unchanged 92%
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.
Referred to by 1
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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Ram Swarup vs Mohd. Javed Razack
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A Metropolitan Magistrate may take cognizance of a defamation complaint based on a prima facie case established through examination of the complaint and the complainant on oath, without mandatory referral to police under Section 156(3) CrPC. Furthermore, a complainant who is himself addressed with defamatory words has the legal standing to lodge a complaint under Section 199 CrPC, regardless of whether defamatory words were also used against a third party. The Magistrate's discretionary exercise of cognizance, once made based on prima facie case establishment, cannot be subsequently challenged on procedural grounds.
On this section: Conditions for proceeding in cases of defamation; court examined whether the complainant had the legal right to lodge the complaint for words used against both himself and his father
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Accused No.5 who is appellant in the other appeal assails the order of summoning on three grounds namely, (i) that the respondent No.1 ought to have followed the special procedure prescribed in Section 199(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as he happens to be a Minister of a Union Territory; (ii) that the transcript of the tweets attributed to him were not accompanied by a valid certificate in terms of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act; and (iii) that in any case the tweets made by him per se do not …
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… Mr.Luthra, urges that the impugned order is a an order without jurisdiction since in view of the provision of Section 199(2) Cr.P.C., respondent no.2 could not have filed a private complaint in the court of Magistrate for the offence of defamation. He submits that Section 199(2) Cr.P.C. prescribes a special procedure for cognizance of an offence of defamation whereunder the complaint has to be filed, in case of public servant, through Public Prosecutor before the court of Sessions. He seeks to draw comparison between the provision under the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and that …
Questions about Section 199
What have the courts held on Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Ram Swarup vs Mohd. Javed Razack (23 Feb 2005) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Conditions for proceeding in cases of defamation; court examined whether the complainant had the legal right to lodge the complaint for words used against both himself and his father.
How do I find court cases under Section 199 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: CRPC 199, section 199 CRPC, section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 199 in bnss and crpc 199 200. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Ram Swarup vs Mohd. Javed Razack (23 Feb 2005).
What should I read with Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 222 (Prosecution for defamation), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 199, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.