The 1973 Criminal Procedure Code Includes Stages Involved in Different Criminal Trials in India
The Criminal Procedure Code (referred to as “CrPC” or “code”) establishes the process and manner in which criminal trials in India should be handled. The code’s first and most important goal is to ensure a successful trial. The code treats the defendant as innocent until he is found guilty, while also ensuring that a criminal does not roam freely without any kind of punishment.
The code establishes a three-phase criminal system for determining the defendant’s responsibility and punishing him.
• Pre-trial
• Trial
• Post-trial
The trial portion is the most important of them since it determines whether the accused will be sentenced or found not guilty.
Types of Criminal Trial
Warrant Trial
The Criminal Code of 1973 classifies warrant trials as those involving offences punishable by death, life imprisonment, or detention for more than two years. The procedure for a warrant case will begin with the filing of an FIR in the police headquarters. The police examine this case and return the report to the Magistrate. The Magistrate then assists in the procedures established by law, and the guilty party is brought before or appears deliberately.
Summon Trial
A summon trial is one in which an offence is punishable by a sentence of no more than two years in prison. It does not need the arranging of proof. A gather case will be converted into a warrant case by the judge if, after investigating the situation, he determines that it isn’t a summon case. It’ll be transformed into a warrant case.
The person charged does not have to be offered. The charges must be made aware to the person who has been accused. There is no demand for peripheral charges to be documented as a hard copy. The accused only has one chance to question and cross-examine the witnesses.
Summary Trial
This category includes cases that need only a few hearings to resolve the issue. These kinds of trials are reserved for minor offences to ease the burden on the courts and save time and money. Those situations in which a crime is punishable by not more than a year in prison will be tried in an outlined summary method. The reason for this is that if the case is tried in a summary way, a person cannot be sentenced to more than a quarter of a year of detention.
Stages of Criminal Trial
Stages of a Warrant Trial Once a Police Report has been Filed
In warrant cases, the phases of the trial are listed in Sections 238 to 250 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
• FIR (First Information Report): The case is started by filing FIR. An FIR is an information provided to the police by a victim in connection with the commission of a crime.
• Investigation: The investigating official creates a complete end report by examining facts and circumstances, accumulating proof, analysing various people and recording their declaration as a hard copy, and thus the various advancements required for examination.
• Charges: If the blamed isn’t free after reviewing the police report and other essential documents, the court sets charges for him to face.
• Prosecution Evidence: When the charges are framed, and the accused confesses, the court relies on the indictment to provide proof of the accused’s guilt. With proclamation from its witnesses, the indictment is required to aid their proof.
• Accused Statement: The accused has the chance to speak out and clarify the facts and circumstances of the case. When promising to reveal the truth, the denouncer’s announcements do not appear to be recorded and might be used against them.
• Defence Evidence: The accused is allowed to defend himself if he is not being clear in his statements. Each oral and narrative proof will be produced by the defence and the prosecution bears the burden of evidence.
• Judgement: The term “judgement” refers to the court’s ultimate decision, which includes grounds for the vindication or conviction of the accused.
Stages of Warrant Trial at what time personal Complaint is Filed
• Following the documentation of the complaint, the court can question the litigant and witnesses at the same time or on a different day to determine whether an offence has been made against the blamed individual.
• Following the litigator’s examination, the Magistrate will order an investigation into the problem and produce a report.
• Upon investigation of the complainant and the examination report, the court may reach a precise judgement as to whether the objection is genuine and verifiable, or if the legal document has sufficient proof against the blame or not.
• After reviewing the critique and the report, if the court believes that the indictment has a solid case and that there is sufficient evidence and proof in the legal document to charge the accused, the official may issue a warrant or summons.
Stages in Summon Trial
Sections 251 to 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure outline the various stages of a criminal trial during a summons case.
• Pre-trial: During the pre-trial stage, the procedure is directed, such as the documentation of the FIR and the investigation.
• Charges: If the accused appears in the court or is brought before the judge, the judge will orally state the facts of the offence for which he is responsible.
• Evidence of Defence and Prosecution: A trial procedure will commence in the case where the accused refuses to confess, the prosecution and defence are asked to provide evidence in support of their respective cases. The judge might also order the denouncer’s name to be made public.
• Judgement: The parties do not need to argue on the penalty given after the sentence is expressed in the case.
Stages in Summary Trial
The trial procedure is outlined from Section 260 through Section 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• The summary trial is conducted in the same manner as a summons trial.
• Detention for up to a quarter of a year is possible.
• The designated authority should record the substance of the proof and concise articulation of the court’s conclusion with reasons inside the trial judgement.
Having a perfect code does not guarantee that justice will be served or that a fair trial will be conducted. A rational and high-principled execution of the code, as well as adherence to the code by all bodies during trial, investigation, arrest, and all other procedures, maybe the only answer to all or any of those concerns.