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Section353
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Judgment

Repealed From 01 Apr 1974 Act 2 of 1974 As on 14 Oct 2026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This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024.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 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with judgment. The judgment in every trial in any Criminal Court of original jurisdiction shall be pronounced in open Court by the Presiding officer immediately after the termination of the trial or at some subsequent time of which notice shall be given to the parties or their pleaders,- (a) by delivering the whol 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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) The judgment in every trial in any Criminal Court of original jurisdiction shall be pronounced in open Court by the Presiding officer

immediately after the termination of the trial or at some subsequent time of which notice shall be given to the parties or their pleaders,-

(a) by delivering the whole of the judgment; or

(b) by reading out the whole of the judgment; or

(c) by reading out the operative part of the judgment and explaining the substance of the judgment in a language which is understood by the accused or his pleader.

(2) Where the judgment is delivered under clause (a) of sub-section (1), the presiding officer shall cause it to be taken down in short-hand, sign the transcript and every page thereof as soon as it is made ready, and write on it the date of the delivery of the judgment in open Court.

(3) Where the judgment or the operative part thereof is read out under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1), as the case may be, it shall be dated and signed by the presiding officer in open Court, and if it is not written with his own hand, every page of the judgment shall be signed by him.

(4) Where the judgment is pronounced in the manner specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1), the whole judgment or a copy thereof shall be immediately made available for the perusal of the parties or their pleaders free of cost.

(5) If the accused is in custody, he shall be brought up to hear the judgment pronounced.

(6) If the accused is not in custody, he shall be required by the Court to attend to hear the judgment pronounced, except where his personal attendance during the trial has been dispensed with and the sentence is one of fine only or he is acquitted :

Provided that, where there are more accused than one, and one or more of them do not attend the Court on the date on which the judgment is to be pronounced, the presiding officer may, in order to avoid undue delay in the disposal of the case, pronounce the judgment notwithstanding their absence.

(7) No judgment delivered by any Criminal Court shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the absence of any party or his pleader on the day or from the place notified for the delivery thereof, or of any omission to serve, or defect in serving, on the parties or their pleaders, or any of them, the notice of such day and place.

(8) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit in any way the extent of the provisions of section 465.

Section 353, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).

Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

BNSS 392 Judgment Text carried over almost unchanged 92%

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. 465 Finding or sentence when reversible by reason of error, omission orirregularity

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 354 Language and contents of judgment

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.

  1. Amanul Haque @ Amanal Haque vs The State of Bihar& ORS.

    High Court 23 Nov 2012 Persuasive (High Court)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    When prosecution arguments in a criminal trial are completed, the trial court is fully justified in delivering the judgment on the same day without adjournment to another date, and such delivery does not violate Section 353(1) CrPC or constitute procedural irregularity warranting High Court interference in revision jurisdiction, particularly when the prosecution has failed to produce any evidence.

    On this section: Timing and procedure for judgment pronouncement - central issue of the case; court held that judgment can be delivered on the same day if arguments are completed, as there is no mandatory requirement for adjournment

    Read the full order on eCourts India

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 353

What have the courts held on Section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?

Amanul Haque @ Amanal Haque vs The State of Bihar& ORS. (23 Nov 2012) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Timing and procedure for judgment pronouncement - central issue of the case; court held that judgment can be delivered on the same day if arguments are completed, as there is no mandatory requirement for adjournment.

How do I find court cases under Section 353 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 353, section 353 CRPC, section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 353(6) and crpc 353 in bnss. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Amanul Haque @ Amanal Haque vs The State of Bihar& ORS. (23 Nov 2012).

What should I read with Section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 465 (Finding or sentence when reversible by reason of error, omission orirregularity), 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 392 (Judgment), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?

Section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 353, 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.