Appeals from convictions under sections 344, 345, 349, and 350
Section 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with appeals from convictions under sections 344, 345, 349, and 350. Any person sentenced by any Court other than a High Court under section 344, section 345, section 349, or section 350 may, not- withstanding anything contained in this Code appeal to the Court to which decrees or orders made in such Court are ordinarily appealable. 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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) Any person sentenced by any Court other than a High Court under section 344, section 345, section 349, or section 350 may, not- withstanding anything contained in this Code appeal to the Court to which decrees or orders made in such Court are ordinarily appealable.
(2) The provisions of Chapter XXIX shall, so far as they are applicable, apply to appeals under this section, and the Appellate Court may alter or reverse the finding, or reduce or reverse the sentence appealed against.
(3) An appeal from such conviction by a Court of Small Causes shall lie to the Court of Session for the sessions division within which such Court is situate.
(4) An appeal from such conviction by any Registrar or Sub- Registrar deemed to be a Civil Court by virtue of a direction issued under section 347 shall lie to the Court of Session for the sessions division within which the office of such Registrar or Sub-Registrar is situate.
Section 351, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 390 Appeals from convictions under sections 383, 384, 388 and 389 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
- s. 344 Summary procedure for trial for giving false evidence
- s. 345 Procedure in certain cases of contempt
- s. 347 When Registrar or Sub-Registrar to be deemed a Civil Court
- s. 349 Imprisonment or committal of person refusing to answer or producedocument
- s. 350 Summary procedure for punishment for non-attendance by a witness inobedience to summons
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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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: Grants appellate court discretion to quash or set aside orders passed by subordinate courts. The High Court exercised this discretion to quash the contempt conviction.
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Shiv Saran Singh vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A witness cannot be convicted under Section 350 Cr.P.C. for non-appearance before court without establishing that he failed to appear without just excuse, and the court must follow the summary trial procedure prescribed under Section 350 Cr.P.C., including providing proper notice and opportunity to show cause before passing a conviction order.
On this section: Basis for criminal appeal against conviction by trial court
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Pawan Kumar Gaud Son of Durgashankar vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a witness who initiates a criminal complaint and participates as an independent witness in trap proceedings subsequently turns hostile during trial and gives false evidence with the intention of saving the accused from criminal charges, the trial court is justified in issuing a show cause notice under Section 344 CrPC, provided the mandatory conditions are satisfied: (1) the court forms an opinion that the witness knowingly or willfully gave false evidence, (2) the court concludes that in the interest of justice the witness should be punished summarily, and (3) the witness is given reasonable opportunity to show cause. The High Court will not interfere with such action under Section 482 CrPC.
On this section: Appealability of orders under Section 344 CrPC - orders passed under Section 344 are appealable.
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Arun Paswan vs State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An appeal against an order directing the registration of contempt proceedings is premature and not maintainable when filed before the contempt proceedings are concluded. The appellate court cannot adjudicate on the merits of such an order at an intermediate stage; the proper course is to await the final outcome of the contempt proceedings and then appeal if aggrieved.
On this section: Basis for filing appeal against the Sessions Judge's order; the appeal is preferred 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.
Questions about Section 351
What have the courts held on Section 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Chimanlal Khushalbhai Patel vs State of Gujarat (16 Nov 2000) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Grants appellate court discretion to quash or set aside orders passed by subordinate courts. The High Court exercised this discretion to quash the contempt conviction. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2000 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 351 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 351, section 351 CRPC, section 351 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. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Chimanlal Khushalbhai Patel vs State of Gujarat (16 Nov 2000).
What should I read with Section 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 344 (Summary procedure for trial for giving false evidence), section 345 (Procedure in certain cases of contempt), section 347 (When Registrar or Sub-Registrar to be deemed a Civil Court), section 349 (Imprisonment or committal of person refusing to answer or producedocument), and on 1 further provision, 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 390 (Appeals from convictions under sections 383, 384, 388 and 389), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 351, 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.