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IndiaCode Laws
Section288
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Return of commission

Repealed From 01 Apr 1974 Act 2 of 1974 As on 17 Oct 2026

Act 2 of 1974 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 25 Jan 1974 In force 01 Apr 1974 Cited by 1 provision

This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with return of commission. After any commission issued under section 284 has been duly executed, it shall be returned, together with the deposition of the witness examined thereunder, to the Court or Magistrate issuing the commission ; 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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) After any commission issued under section 284 has been duly executed, it shall be returned, together with the deposition of the witness examined thereunder, to the Court or Magistrate issuing the commission ; and the commission, the return thereto and the deposition shall be opened at all reasonable times to inspection of the parties, and

may, subject to all just exceptions, be read in evidence in the case by either party, and shall form part of the record.

(2) Any deposition so taken, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed by section 33 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), may also be received in evidence at any subsequent stage of the case before another Court.

Section 288, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).

Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

BNSS 323 Return of commission 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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

  1. s. 284 When attendance of witness may be dispensed with and commissionissued
  2. Indian Evidence Act s. 33 Relevancy of certain evidence for proving, in subsequent proceeding, the truth of facts therein stated

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 290 Execution of foreign commissions

Questions about Section 288

What does Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deal with?

Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is headed "Return of commission". After any commission issued under section 284 has been duly executed, it shall be returned, together with the deposition of the witness examined thereunder, to the Court or Magistrate issuing the commission ;

How do I find court cases under Section 288 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 288, section 288 CRPC, section 288 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 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 284 (When attendance of witness may be dispensed with and commissionissued), Indian Evidence Act 33 (Relevancy of certain evidence for proving, in subsequent proceeding, the truth of facts therein stated), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 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 323 (Return of commission), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?

Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 288, 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

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.