Procedure in certain cases of contempt
Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with procedure in certain cases of contempt. When any such offence as is described in section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), is committed in the view or presence of any Civil, Criminal or Revenue Court, the Court may cause the offender to be detained in custody and may, at any t 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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) When any such offence as is described in section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), is committed in the view or presence of any Civil, Criminal or Revenue Court, the Court may cause the offender to be detained in custody and may, at any time before the rising of the Court on the same day, take cognizance of the offence and, after giving the offender a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why he should not be punished under this section, sentence the offender to fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, and, in default of payment of fine, to simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, unless such fine be sooner paid.
(2) In every such case the Court shall record the facts constituting the offence, with the statement (if any) made by the offender, as well as the finding and sentence.
(3) If the offence is under section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the record shall show the nature and stage of the judicial proceeding in which the Court interrupted or insulted was sitting, and the nature of the interruption or insult.
Section 345, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 384 Procedure in certain cases of contempt Text carried over almost unchanged 97%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
- s. 175 Power to summon persons
- s. 178 Place of inquiry or trial
- s. 179 Offence triable where act is done or consequence ensues
- s. 180 Place of trial where act is an offence by reason of relation to otheroffence
- Indian Penal Code s. 228 Intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial proceeding
Referred to by 6
- s. 346 Procedure where Court considers, that case should not be dealt withunder section 345
- s. 347 When Registrar or Sub-Registrar to be deemed a Civil Court
- s. 348 Discharge of offender on submission of apology
- s. 349 Imprisonment or committal of person refusing to answer or producedocument
- s. 351 Appeals from convictions under sections 344, 345, 349, and 350
- s. 352 Certain Judges and Magistrates not to try certain offences whencommitted before themselves
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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Laxman @ Laxman Rawat vs Hariom Forging (p) LTD
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A litigant cannot be expected to rely solely on court websites for tracking proceedings, as the availability of orders and proceedings on court websites is subject to technical limitations and vagaries of technology. Courts cannot ensure real-time availability of all orders on their websites, and therefore, litigants cannot claim ignorance of proceedings based on non-availability of information on court websites.
On this section: Labour Courts deemed as Civil Courts for specified purposes
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Mohan Lal Jatia vs Registrar General
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A complaint filed by the Registrar General of the Supreme Court under Section 340 Cr.P.C. must be treated as if instituted on a police report in accordance with Section 343(1) Cr.P.C., notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter XV relating to complaint cases. Consequently, the trial shall proceed as a warrant trial case on a police report, and pre-charge evidence recording is not required when the investigating agency (CBI) has already completed its investigation and material is available on record. The procedure under Sections 245 and 246 Cr.P.C. (applicable to warrant trial cases on complaint) does not apply to such cases.
On this section: Prescribes procedure for offences committed in presence of court; allows summary sentencing with limited punishment
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Chimanlal Khushalbhai Patel vs State of Gujarat
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where a witness's silence during examination-in-chief is followed by proper testimony and an unconditional apology, and where the witness is a first-time court attendee suffering from health issues, the trial court's finding of contempt of court may be set aside on appeal if it appears to be an overreaction to a trivial matter, particularly when the consequences of the punishment would cause severe hardship to the witness's family and livelihood. The appellate court should exercise discretion under Section 351(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash such conviction when the trial court's approach is found to be unjust, improper, or unreasonable.
On this section: Provides for punishment of witness for contempt of court when witness refuses to answer questions or behaves in a manner showing disrespect to the court. The High Court examined whether the appellant's silence met the threshold for contempt under this section.
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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… of Justice, with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both." The provisions of Section 175 IPC has been tested in the case of Arun Paswan, SI vs. State of Bihar and Others ; (2004) 5 SCC 53 where it has been taken note of section 345 procedure in certain cases of contempt, para-16 and 17 are profitably quoted hereunder: > "16. To answer this question, it will be relevant to make a quick survey of [Section 345](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641897/) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which corresponds to [Section …
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… of Justice, with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both." The provisions of Section 175 IPC has been tested in the case of Arun Paswan, SI vs. State of Bihar and Others ; (2004) 5 SCC 53 where it has been taken note of section 345 procedure in certain cases of contempt, para-16 and 17 are profitably quoted hereunder: > "16. To answer this question, it will be relevant to make a quick survey of [Section 345](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641897/) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which corresponds to [Section …
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… when this order was being dictated, as also his conduct in relying on the article written by Sri Upendra Baxi, which has nothing to do with this case or the events that transpired in this court, we deem it appropriate to initiate proceedings against him under section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 read with section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and other enabling provisions in that regard. We also deem it appropriate to place on record the fact that Sri C.K. Mohanan, learned counsel for the petitioner did not, at any point of time before this order was dictated or while it was being dictated, express regret or …
Questions about Section 345
What have the courts held on Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Laxman @ Laxman Rawat vs Hariom Forging (p) LTD (25 Aug 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Labour Courts deemed as Civil Courts for specified purposes. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2000 to 2022.
How do I find court cases under Section 345 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 345, section 345 CRPC, section 345 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. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Laxman @ Laxman Rawat vs Hariom Forging (p) LTD (25 Aug 2022).
What should I read with Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 175 (Power to summon persons), section 178 (Place of inquiry or trial), section 179 (Offence triable where act is done or consequence ensues), section 180 (Place of trial where act is an offence by reason of relation to otheroffence), and on 1 further provision, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 384 (Procedure in certain cases of contempt), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 345, 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.