section against his surety or sureties, and, ;if such certified copy is so used, the Court shall presume that such offence was committed by him unless the contrary is proved
Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with section against his surety or sureties, and, ;if such certified copy is so used, the Court shall presume that such offence was committed by him unless the contrary is proved. Cancellation of bond and bail-bond. Without prejudice to the provisions of section 446, where a bond under this Code is for appearance of a person in a case and it is forfeited for breach of a condition- (a) the bond executed by such person as well as the bond, if any, executed by one or more of his 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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.
Cancellation of bond and bail-bond. Without prejudice to the provisions of section 446, where a bond under this Code is for appearance of a person in a case and it is forfeited for breach of a condition-
(a) the bond executed by such person as well as the bond, if any, executed by one or more of his sureties in that case shall stand cancelled; and
(b) thereafter no such person shall be released only on his own bond in that case, if the Police Officer or the Court, as the case may be, for appearance before whom the bond was executed, is satisfied that there was no sufficient cause for the failure of the person bound by the bond to comply with its condition:
Provided that subject to any other provision of this Code he may be released in that case upon the execution of a fresh personal bond for such sum of money and bond by one or more of such sureties as the Police Officer or the Court, as the case may be, thinks sufficient.]
Section 446A, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 492 Cancellation of bond and bail bond Close, with changes 73%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Pratap Singh Gaekwad vs State of Nct of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Rejection of an application seeking exemption from personal appearance due to some contingency cannot, by any stretch of imagination, come within the ambit of either absconding or not obeying the summons or non-appearance despite proof of due service of summons or 'non-appearance' as contemplated by Section 89 CrPC, nor such 'non-appearance' is a breach of condition of the bond either of a person who is on bail or of a surety that such a person shall attend at the time and place mentioned in the bond. Therefore, no court shall forfeit personal bond or surety bond or issue warrant of arrest merely because an exemption application is rejected.
On this section: Cancellation of bond and bail bond after forfeiture; provides procedure for re-release on fresh bond; applicable only after valid forfeiture
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Pratap Singh Gaekwad vs State of Nct of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Rejection of an application for exemption from personal appearance due to some contingency cannot, by any stretch of imagination, come within the ambit of either absconding or not obeying summons or non-appearance despite proof of due service of summons or 'non-appearance' as contemplated by Section 89 CrPC, nor can such 'non-appearance' be a breach of condition of the bond either of a person on bail or of a surety. Therefore, no court shall forfeit personal bond or surety bond or issue non-bailable warrants merely because an exemption application is rejected. The only permissible course is to direct the accused to appear or issue summons.
On this section: Cancellation of bond and bail bond. Bond stands cancelled only if forfeited for breach of condition. Person can be released on fresh bond if Police Officer or court is satisfied there was no sufficient cause for failure to comply with bond condition.
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Shimpu Alias Som Dutt vs State of Hp
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases involving serious criminal charges under the SC/ST Atrocities Act and POCSO Act, bail may be granted by the High Court under Section 439 CrPC if the accused demonstrates cooperation with investigation and willingness to submit to court authority, provided that stringent and comprehensive conditions are imposed to protect victims, prevent witness intimidation, ensure investigation cooperation, and maintain trial integrity. The court must apply the Arnesh Kumar principles while tailoring conditions to the specific circumstances of each case.
On this section: Relates to recovery of bail amount; referenced in context of State expenditure recovery
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Pratap Singh Gaekwad vs State of Nct of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Rejection of an application for exemption from personal appearance in criminal proceedings, by no stretch of imagination, can come within the ambit of either absconding, not obeying summons, or non-appearance despite proof of due service of summons as contemplated by Sections 87 and 89 CrPC. Therefore, rejection of such an application cannot be grounds for issuing warrants of arrest, forfeiting personal bonds, forfeiting surety bonds, or issuing notice to sureties. The only proper course when exemption is rejected is to direct the accused to appear on the next date or to issue summons for appearance under Section 205 CrPC. Before forfeiting any bond under Section 446 CrPC, the court must satisfy itself about proof of breach of bond conditions and must record reasons of such proof in writing.
On this section: Cancellation of bond and bail bond; establishes that bond can only be cancelled if there was breach of condition and no sufficient cause for failure to comply
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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… enlarged on bail on executing a bail bond for a sum of Rs. 50,000/-(fifty thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Buxar in connection with Rajpur P.S. Case No. 60 of 2008, when the Magistrate shall proceed to 3 / 3 release in accordance with Section 445 and 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Magistrate before acceptance of the bond must explain to the sureties the consequences under Section 446A. The photographs and proof of residence of the sureties shall be appended to the bail bonds and shall be verified through the local police before final acceptance. The …
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… to filing of fresh application for bail, in that view of the matter, without any cogent reason for doubt latest order ought to have been complied with at least provisionally subject to clarification, if any, cropped up in the mind, taking into consideration the provision as laid down under Section 427(2) read with Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Let a copy of this order be communicated to learned Sessions Judge and the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gaya, in connection with Kotwali P.S. Case No. 215/2011, through Fax. Rajeev/- (Akhilesh Chandra, J.) …
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… Further, submission is that under some special circumstances the police authorities stopped the investigation by the end of year 1996 itself which If it is so, (on verification of case diary and taking aid of provisions under Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure), in the event of his arrest/surrender before the court below within four weeks, let the petitioner, namely, Guddu Singh @ Praveer Kumar, be enlarged on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (ten thousand only) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of …
Questions about Section 446A
What have the courts held on Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Pratap Singh Gaekwad vs State of Nct of Delhi (30 Oct 2003) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Cancellation of bond and bail bond after forfeiture; provides procedure for re-release on fresh bond; applicable only after valid forfeiture. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2003 to 2020.
How do I find court cases under Section 446A 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 446A, section 446A CRPC, section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type 446a crpc in bnss. 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 Pratap Singh Gaekwad vs State of Nct of Delhi (30 Oct 2003).
What should I read with Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 446 (Procedure when bond has been forfeited), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 492 (Cancellation of bond and bail bond), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 446A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 446A, 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.