Procedure where Court considers, that case should not be dealt withunder section 345
Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with procedure where Court considers, that case should not be dealt withunder section 345. Procedure where Court considers,that case should not be dealt with under section 345. 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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.
Procedure where Court considers,that case should not be dealt with under section 345.
(1) If the Court in any case considers that a person accused of any of the offences referred to in section 345 and committed in its view or presence should be imprisoned otherwise than in default of payment
of fine, or that a fine exceeding two hundred rupees should be imposed upon him, or such Court is for any other reason of opinion that the case should not be disposed of under section 345, such Court, after recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as hereinbefore provided, may forward the case to a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same, and may require security to be given for the appearance of such person before such Magistrate, or if sufficient security is not given shall forward such person in custody to such Magistrate.
(2) The Magistrate to whom any case is forwarded under this section shall proceed to deal with, as far as may be, as if it were instituted on a police report.
Section 346, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 385 Procedure where Court considers that case should not be dealt with under section 384 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An Appellate Court cannot remand a criminal case back to the Trial Court merely for the purpose of writing a fresh judgment after considering grounds raised before the Appellate Court. Such remand violates Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The proper course available to an Appellate Court when not satisfied with the Trial Court's order is to decide the case itself or send it for retrial. Remand is permissible only in exceptional circumstances where there are serious lacunae in the trial that vitiate the entire trial, such as the need for fresh medical evidence or other critical evidence that was omitted during the original trial.
On this section: Cited by counsel for complainant-petitioner to argue that the Appellate Court cannot remand the matter for deciding it afresh
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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: Provides that when summary trial procedure is not followed, case forwarded to Magistrate shall be dealt with as if instituted on police report
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Smt Gracy Pereira vs Parish Priest
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An interim order dismissing an application is not amenable to revisional jurisdiction under Section 378(4) CrPC, and where a party has complied with court orders for document production, allegations of willful disobedience under Section 175 IPC cannot be sustained.
On this section: Application filed under this section for alleged willful non-production of documents
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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… Any Commission, while conducting an inquiry under Section 13(1)(j) has been given wide powers akin to that of a civil court and has a right to forward any case to a magistrate and the magistrate is required to deal with such case forwarded to him as if the case has been forwarded to him under Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The follow up action which a Commission can take is also clearly set out in Section 15 of the CPCR Act which empowers the Commission to make recommendations to the concerned Government or authority for initiation of proceedings including prosecution or such other action as …
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… Any Commission, while conducting an inquiry under Section 13(1)(j) has been given wide powers akin to that of a civil court and has a right to forward any case to a magistrate and the magistrate is required to deal with such case forwarded to him as if the case has been forwarded to him under Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The follow up action which a Commission can take is also clearly set out in Section 15 of the CPCR Act which empowers the Commission to make recommendations to the concerned Government or authority for initiation of proceedings including prosecution or such other action as …
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… Any Commission, while conducting an inquiry under Section 13(1)(j) has been given wide powers akin to that of a civil court and has a right to forward any case to a magistrate and the magistrate is required to deal with such case forwarded to him as if the case has been forwarded to him under Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The follow up action which a Commission can take is also clearly set out in Section 15 of the CPCR Act which empowers the Commission to make recommendations to the concerned Government or authority for initiation of proceedings including prosecution or such other action as …
Questions about Section 346
What have the courts held on Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan (28 Jul 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Cited by counsel for complainant-petitioner to argue that the Appellate Court cannot remand the matter for deciding it afresh. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2010 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 346 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 346, section 346 CRPC, section 346 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 Shiv Kumar Agarwal vs State of Rajasthan (28 Jul 2017).
What should I read with Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 345 (Procedure in certain cases of contempt), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 385 (Procedure where Court considers that case should not be dealt with under section 384), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 346, 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.