Power to order costs
Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with power to order costs. Any Court dealing with an application made to it for filing a complaint under section 340 or an appeal under section 341, shall have power to make such order as to costs as may be just. 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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.
Any Court dealing with an application made to it for filing a complaint under section 340 or an appeal under section 341, shall have power to make such order as to costs as may be
just.
Section 342, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 381 Power to order costs Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
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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Inspector of Customs, Akhnoor J & K vs Yash Pal
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
While the examination of an accused under Section 313 CrPC is mandatory in warrant cases and should generally be conducted personally, procedural flexibility may be introduced in special exigencies where personal attendance causes genuine hardship involving substantial expense or physical incapacity, provided the court has satisfied itself as to the genuineness of the hardship. However, when omission to put incriminating materials to an accused has in fact occurred at trial, the trial court must ordinarily eschew such materials from its consideration unless the accused is afforded opportunity to explain them, either during trial or by appellate-stage explanation. In this case, because the foundation of the prosecution case (voluntary confessions to Customs authorities) was not put to the accused at all, their acquittal could not be set aside.
On this section: The predecessor provision in the old Criminal Procedure Code. The court traced the historical development and purpose of this examination requirement and its evolution to the current Section 313.
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Subash Chander vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused is charged under Sections 376/511 IPC (rape and attempt to commit rape) and evidence establishes commission of lesser offence under Section 354 IPC (outraging modesty) of same nature, the trial court is competent to record conviction under Section 354 IPC even without formal charge under that section, as Section 236 CrPC permits conviction for offence not charged if it is of same nature as charged offence and proved on evidence. Additionally, delay of one day in lodging FIR in cases involving sexual assault of young women is justified when victim's family was away and matter was under panchayat consideration, and such delay cannot be termed inordinate or fatal to prosecution case.
On this section: Statement of accused - Appellant's statement recorded after closure of prosecution evidence
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.
Questions about Section 342
What have the courts held on Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Inspector of Customs, Akhnoor J & K vs Yash Pal (06 Mar 2009) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: The predecessor provision in the old Criminal Procedure Code. The court traced the historical development and purpose of this examination requirement and its evolution to the current Section 313. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2009 to 2023.
How do I find court cases under Section 342 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 342, section 342 CRPC, section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 342 bangla and 342 crpc in bnss. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Inspector of Customs, Akhnoor J & K vs Yash Pal (06 Mar 2009).
What should I read with Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 340 (Procedure in cases mentioned in section 195), section 341 (Appeal), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 381 (Power to order costs), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 342, 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.