Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried byCourt-martial
Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried byCourt-martial. Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial. 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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.
Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial.
(1) The Central Government may make rules consistent with this Code and the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957), and the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), and any other law, relating to the Armed Forces of the Union, for the time being in force, as to cases in which persons subject to military, naval or air force law, or such other law, shall be tried by a Court to which this Code applies or by a Court-martial; and when any person is brought before a Magistrate and charged with an offence for which he is liable to be tried either by a Court to which this Code applies or by a Court-martial, such Magistrate shall have regard to such rules, and shall in proper cases deliver him, together with a
statement of the offence of which he is accused, to the commanding officer of the unit to which he belongs, or to the commanding officer of the nearest military, naval or air force station, as the case may be, for the purpose of being tried by a Court-martial.
Explanation.-In this section-
(a) "unit" includes a regiment, corps, ship, detachment, group, battalion or company,
(b) "Court-martial" includes any tribunal with the powers similar to those of a Court-martial constituted under the relevant law applicable to the Armed Forces of the Union.
(2) Every Magistrate shall, on receiving a written application for that purpose by the commanding officer of any unit or body of soldiers, sailors or airmen stationed or employed at any such place, use his utmost endeavours to apprehend and secure any person accused of such offence.
(3) A High Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that a prisoner detained in any jail situate within the State be brought before a Court-martial for trial or to be examined touching any matter pending before the Court-martial.
Section 475, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 521 Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial Text carried over almost unchanged 93%
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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Om Prakash S/o Shri Sardara Ram vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a military officer is accused of a criminal offence and the trial court has complied with Section 475 CrPC by seeking the Commanding Officer's permission to conduct trial at a military tribunal, but the Commanding Officer refuses to conduct the trial, the trial court has the jurisdiction and authority to proceed with the trial itself. The refusal of the military tribunal to conduct trial does not deprive the civil court of its jurisdiction to try the accused.
On this section: Section 475 CrPC governs the trial of military personnel. The court examined whether the trial court had complied with this section's requirements before commencing trial. The section appears to require that military personnel be tried by military tribunals, but the court held that when the Commanding Officer refuses to conduct trial, the civil court can proceed.
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Banwari Lal vs State of Rajasthan through Pp
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a criminal case involves a military serviceman along with other non-military accused persons, the case cannot be transferred to a military court (court martial) under Section 475 CrPC merely because one of the accused is in military service. The presence of multiple accused, including non-military personnel, prevents the transfer of the entire case to military jurisdiction, and the case must proceed in the regular criminal court with all accused tried together.
On this section: Provision regarding trial of military personnel; the core issue in this case is whether the case should be transferred to a military court under this section when multiple accused are involved
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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… Court-martial under the provisions of the [Army Act,](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/165229/) we shall refer specifically to the relevant provisions contained in the [Army Act](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/165229/) (hereinafter called "the Act'). 19. To buttress the aforesaid view, I may gainfully take note of Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which, in my opinion, will make this proposition more clear and transparent and remove all doubts to the point in question about the inapplicability of the said Code to the personnel of the armed forces who are subject to a special law enacted for a particular force with a definite …
Questions about Section 475
What have the courts held on Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Om Prakash S/o Shri Sardara Ram vs State of Rajasthan (24 Oct 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Section 475 CrPC governs the trial of military personnel. The court examined whether the trial court had complied with this section's requirements before commencing trial. The section appears to require that military personnel be tried by military tribunals, but the court held that when the Commanding Officer refuses to conduct trial, the civil court can proceed. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2014 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 475 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 475, section 475 CRPC, section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type 475 crpc in bnss and 475 cr pc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Om Prakash S/o Shri Sardara Ram vs State of Rajasthan (24 Oct 2024).
What should I read with Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
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 521 (Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 475, 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.