Criminal Trial in Sessions Court and Magistrate Court, Bangladesh (2026): Cognizance, Section 342 and Acquittal

Criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh practice: the 2026 framework

A criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh judges conduct follows a fixed sequence in Chapter XXIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898: the Public Prosecutor opens the case, the court decides discharge or charge, takes the prosecution evidence, examines the accused under section 342, hears the defence and arguments, and gives judgment.[1] Magistrate trials follow a shorter version of the same path in Chapters XX and XXII. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026, Act No. XI of 2026, did not rewrite that sequence, but it changed several of the rules that decide how quickly a trial moves and how it ends. Parliament passed it in April 2026 to replace two 2025 ordinances, and most of its provisions are deemed to have taken effect on 10 August 2025.[3] [4]

This guide is about the courtroom phase. It explains how a case reaches the trial court through cognizance, what happens when an accused's name is left out of the charge sheet and a naraji petition is filed, how the Sessions and Magistrate trials run step by step, what the section 342 examination requires, when the court must acquit, and how acquittals are challenged. The end-to-end map, from FIR to execution of sentence, is in our guide to the criminal case process in Bangladesh; the charge hearing itself is covered in framing of charges in Bangladesh.

Summary: A magistrate takes cognizance on a police report or a complaint under section 190 and, if the offence is triable only by a Court of Session, sends the case there under section 205C. The trial court then hears discharge (sections 241A or 265C) or frames charge, records prosecution evidence, examines the accused under section 342, takes defence evidence, hears arguments and gives judgment. A Court of Session must acquit under section 265H if there is no evidence against the accused once the prosecution closes. Magistrates should finish trials within 180 days and Courts of Session within 360 days under section 339C, and acquittals can be appealed by the Government, or by a complainant on an error of law, under section 417.

Key point: The fight over who stands trial usually happens before the trial court ever sees the file. The High Court Division confirmed in January 2024 that a magistrate may take cognizance against persons the police did not send up in the charge sheet, and in 2026 it set aside a cognizance order made on a naraji petition without the inquiry section 202 requires.[6] [7] Section 193 then stops a Court of Session taking cognizance as a court of original jurisdiction unless the case has been sent to it.[1]

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Which court tries the case: Magistrate or Court of Session

The forum is fixed by the offence. The second schedule to the Code states, for each Penal Code offence, whether it is triable by a Court of Session or a magistrate, and section 205C requires a magistrate to send any case triable exclusively by a Court of Session to that court.[1] Murder, dacoity and other grave offences go to the Sessions Judge. Most hurt, theft, cheating and criminal breach of trust cases stay with the magistrate. Special statutes, such as the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, route their offences to dedicated tribunals with their own procedure.

Within the Code, three trial procedures now apply. Chapter XX governs the trial of cases by magistrates. Chapter XXI, which once set out a separate warrant-case procedure, now has its sections 251 to 259 omitted, so the old summons and warrant distinction no longer produces two different trials before a magistrate. Chapter XXII governs summary trials, and Chapter XXIII governs trials before Courts of Session.[1] The table below compares them.

The 2026 Act also moved one common offence. Voluntarily causing grievous hurt under section 325 of the Penal Code is now a warrant offence and non-bailable in the second schedule, where it was formerly summons and bailable.[3] That changes the process the magistrate issues at cognizance and the bail position at first appearance, though not the court that tries the case.

Cognizance: how a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh case begins

Cognizance is the court's formal decision to proceed on an offence. Section 190(1) allows a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or first-class magistrate to take cognizance on a complaint, on a police report, or on other information or the magistrate's own knowledge or suspicion.[1] In the districts the work is commonly done by designated cognizance courts, such as the "Cognizance Court, Ga Anchal" that appears in recent judgments.[7]

Cognizance on a police report

The magistrate is not bound by the investigating officer's conclusions. It can accept a charge sheet, accept or reject a final report, take cognizance against persons the police recommended for discharge, or direct further investigation.[6] [8] Section 202(2B) confirms that a magistrate may accept a final report and discharge the accused.[7]

Cognizance on a complaint: sections 200 to 204

On a complaint, section 200 requires the magistrate to examine the complainant and witnesses present on oath at once, with exceptions for complaints by a court or public servant.[1] Section 202 allows process to be postponed while the magistrate inquires or directs an inquiry or investigation; where the offence appears triable exclusively by a Court of Session, the proviso to section 202(2A) requires all the complainant's witnesses to be produced and examined on oath.[7]

Section 203 allows dismissal. Otherwise section 204 requires a summons or warrant according to the second schedule.[1] Filing practice is covered in how to file a criminal case in Bangladesh.

Why cognizance orders matter later

A cognizance order is revisable, so a party who wants to attack it should move promptly before the Sessions Judge under sections 435 and 439A. In Montu Bepary v State, the High Court Division held a section 561A application against a cognizance order not maintainable because revision was available.[6]

Charge sheet, final report and the naraji petition

An investigation ends in a charge sheet naming the persons the police say should stand trial, or a final report recommending that no one does. The 2026 Act added three rules around that report: a sixty-working-day investigation limit in section 173B, interim reports and early discharge in section 173A, and the court's power in section 173B(6) to direct that a named accused be treated as a witness in the interest of justice.[3]

What a naraji petition is

A naraji (no-confidence) petition is the informant's objection to the police report, typically because a final report exonerates everyone, the charge sheet omits FIR-named accused or it reduces the offence. The magistrate may treat the naraji petition as a complaint, examine the petitioner under section 200 and take cognizance under section 190(1)(a), or direct further investigation under section 156(3).[8]

Further investigation versus a directed charge sheet

The limits of the magistrate's power are where most naraji disputes are fought. Section 173(3B) expressly allows further investigation after a police report is filed, with further evidence sent up in a supplementary report.[9] In Abdul Gani Contractor v State (10 August 2023), a naraji petition was allowed, a supplementary charge sheet named the petitioner, and the High Court Division refused to quash the proceeding.[9]

A magistrate cannot, however, tell the police what the result of the investigation must be. In Monfor Ali v State (22 November 2023), the magistrate had directed the investigating officer to record a witness's statement "correctly" and submit a supplementary charge sheet. The High Court Division held that any direction to the police to submit a charge sheet or final report after a report has been filed is illegal, and quashed the proceeding as an abuse of process.[8] The distinction is between ordering an investigation and dictating its outcome.

Timing a challenge to a rejected naraji petition

If the naraji petition is rejected, the informant's remedy is revision, and delay is fatal: in Khandaker Abdus Sabur v Jamsher Ali, a revision filed 388 days late, on the explanation that the lawyer had not passed on the order, was rejected.[10] See criminal revision in Bangladesh.

When your name is not in the charge sheet

Being left out of the charge sheet is not the same as being cleared. A person named in the FIR but not sent up can still become an accused if the magistrate takes cognizance against him despite the report, if a naraji petition leads to cognizance on complaint, or if further investigation produces a supplementary charge sheet.[6] [8] [9]

Montu Bepary v State: cognizance against persons not sent up

In Montu Bepary v State (17 January 2024), a murder case was investigated three times, by the Detective Branch, the CID and an Assistant Superintendent of Police, and each charge sheet recommended discharge of nine FIR-named accused. The magistrate nonetheless took cognizance under sections 302 and 34 of the Penal Code against all of them.[6]

The High Court Division upheld the order. Counsel for the accused accepted that a magistrate may take cognizance against persons not sent up, provided the decision is judicious and rests on some prima facie material. The informant, the deceased's mother, said she had identified those who took her son from the house that night, and the court held that her account could not be shut out because a co-accused's confession and the section 161 statements omitted the petitioners.[6]

Ala Uddin v State: the inquiry a naraji petition requires

The power has limits. In Ala Uddin v State (Criminal Revision No. 966 of 2023, decided in 2026), the police charge-sheeted under section 304 of the Penal Code. On a naraji petition the magistrate took cognizance under section 302 straight away, and the Sessions Judge framed charge after rejecting a section 265C application.[7]

Treating the naraji petition as a fresh complaint, the High Court Division held that the magistrate should first have inquired under section 202, since the police had found no material for murder and the offence was triable only by a Court of Session. It set aside both the cognizance order and the charge.[7]

Supplementary charge sheets at trial

A supplementary charge sheet that adds an accused must itself be lawful. In the 21 August 2004 grenade attack case, the High Court Division held on 1 December 2024 that the supplementary charge sheet used at trial was unlawful, rejected the death reference and acquitted all the accused; the Appellate Division upheld the acquittal on 4 September 2025.[12] For a person added late, the legality of the route by which his name entered the case is often the strongest defence point.

What the person who was left out should do

• Watch the cognizance date: obtain the order sheet when the police report is filed and appear if a naraji petition is listed.
• Challenge the order: use revision under sections 435 and 439A, keeping section 561A quashment for cases with no other remedy.[6]
• Prepare for warrants: plan surrender and bail early, using our guides to arrest warrants and the warrant recall petition.

Section 193 adds a structural point: except as the Code or another law provides, no Court of Session may take cognizance as a court of original jurisdiction unless the accused has been sent to it by a competent magistrate.[1] Who is in the case is therefore largely settled before the section 205C transfer, although section 173B(7) lets the trial court later record that the investigating officer wrongly treated as a witness a person who ought to have been an accused.[3]

Transfer under section 205C and the opening of the Sessions trial

When the accused appears or is brought before the magistrate in a case triable exclusively by a Court of Session, section 205C requires the magistrate to send the case to that court, deal with custody subject to the bail provisions, transmit the record and any exhibits, and notify the Public Prosecutor.[1] The case is then registered as a Sessions case and listed before the Sessions Judge, who may keep it or make it over to an Additional or Joint Sessions Judge; section 193(2) limits the cases those judges may try.[1]

Section 265A requires every trial before a Court of Session to be conducted by a Public Prosecutor. Under section 265B the prosecutor opens the case by describing the charge and stating the evidence by which the prosecution will prove the guilt of the accused.[1] A private complainant's lawyer may assist, but the prosecution belongs to the State. The criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh practice that follows is a series of fixed dates, each tied to a section of Chapter XXIII.

Discharge under sections 241A and 265C

The charge hearing is the accused's first chance to end the case at trial level. Before a magistrate, section 241A requires the court to discharge the accused, recording reasons, if after considering the record and hearing both sides it finds the charge groundless. Before a Court of Session, section 265C requires discharge, with reasons, if there is no sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.[1] If there is ground for presuming that the accused committed an offence, the court frames a charge under section 242 or section 265D.[1]

The tests, the materials the court may look at and the case law on challenging an order framing charge are analysed in our guide to framing of charges in Bangladesh. For trial strategy, two points matter. A defect in the cognizance order may be the real target: in Ala Uddin, the charge fell only because the cognizance order was set aside.[7] And discharge is not acquittal. Section 173A(3) expressly allows a person discharged at the interim stage to be named in the final police report if sufficient evidence emerges.[3]

Guilty pleas

Once the charge is read and explained, the accused pleads guilty or claims trial. Section 265E lets the court record a guilty plea and, in its discretion, convict; section 243 does the same before a magistrate.[1] A guilty plea narrows any later appeal, as our guide to criminal appeal in Bangladesh explains.

Prosecution evidence in a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh case

If the accused does not plead guilty, section 265F requires the court to fix a date for examining prosecution witnesses and allows it to issue process to compel their attendance or the production of documents. On that date, section 265G requires the court to take all the evidence produced in support of the prosecution.[1] In a magistrate's trial, section 244(1) provides the equivalent: the court hears the complainant, if any, and takes the prosecution evidence, then hears the accused and takes the defence evidence.[1]

Cross-examination

Section 265G(2) allows the court, in its discretion, to permit the cross-examination of a witness to be deferred until other witnesses have been examined, or to recall a witness for further cross-examination.[1] Deferral is valuable where several witnesses describe the same event and the defence does not want to reveal its line early. Cross-examination should also lay the foundation for section 342: contradictions with section 161 statements, gaps in the chain of custody and missing witnesses must be established on the record before they can be argued.

Securing witnesses

Witness non-attendance is the commonest reason trials stall. Section 344 allows adjournment for a witness's absence or other reasonable cause by a reasoned written order, with magistrate remands limited to fifteen days at a time.[1] The 2026 Act added service of summons by SMS, voice call, instant messaging or email under section 69(4), and court orders protecting an informant, complainant, victim or witness at any stage under section 544(2).[3]

Before a magistrate, section 244(2) and (3) let either side apply for a witness summons, subject to depositing the witness's reasonable expenses.[1] How section 164 confessions are tested when retracted is covered in retracted confession in Bangladesh.

Section 342 examination of the accused

Section 342 is the accused's own voice at trial. Sub-section (1) allows the court, at any stage and without previous warning, to put questions to the accused to enable him to explain any circumstance appearing in the evidence against him, and requires the court to question him generally on the case after the prosecution witnesses have been examined and before he is called on for his defence.[1]

The accused is not liable to punishment for refusing to answer or for false answers, but the court may draw such inference as it thinks just. The answers may be considered at the trial and used for or against him in another trial for an offence they tend to show, and no oath is administered.[1] It is an opportunity to explain, not cross-examination.

Incriminating circumstances must be put

The duty falls on the court. In State v Md Rafiqul Islam, 16 SCOB [2022] HCD 138, the High Court Division set aside murder convictions resting on circumstantial evidence. Among its reasons, the trial judge had examined the accused under section 342 on the footing that ten prosecution witnesses had been examined when there were eleven, and the incriminating evidence had not been drawn to the accused's attention. That, the court held, caused a gross miscarriage of justice.[11] It applied the Appellate Division's statement in Mizanul Islam v State, 41 DLR (AD) 157, that incriminating evidence must be put to the accused or there is a miscarriage of justice to his great prejudice.[11]

How to prepare for section 342

• Build the list before the date: list every circumstance the prosecution relies on, by witness and exhibit, so that the defence can see whether each has been put.
• Answer briefly, consistently: the answers should match the defence suggested in cross-examination; a new story at this stage invites an adverse inference under section 342(2).[1]
• Consider a written statement: in a Sessions trial, section 265-I(2) requires any written statement the accused files to be placed on the record.[1]
• Object on the record: if a circumstance is not put, say so before the defence opens, rather than leaving it for appeal.

Half-time acquittal, defence evidence and arguments

After the prosecution evidence and the section 342 examination, section 265H requires a Court of Session to record an order of acquittal if it considers that there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence.[1] The test is "no evidence", not insufficient evidence. A submission under section 265H succeeds where a link in the prosecution case has simply not been proved, such as identity, presence or the act itself, rather than where the evidence is merely weak.

Entering the defence

If the accused is not acquitted under section 265H, section 265-I(1) requires him to be called on to enter on his defence and adduce any evidence. The court must issue process for defence witnesses or documents on the accused's application unless it refuses, for recorded reasons, because the application is made for vexation, delay or defeating the ends of justice.[1]

The accused may also give evidence himself. Section 340(3) makes him a competent witness for the defence who may give evidence on oath to disprove the charges, but only on his own written request, and his failure to give evidence may not be commented on by the parties or the court or give rise to any presumption against him or a co-accused.[1] Section 340(1) confirms the right to be defended by a pleader.[1] Whether the accused should testify is a tactical decision: it exposes him to cross-examination, which the section 342 examination does not.

Arguments

When the defence evidence is closed, section 265J provides for the prosecutor to sum up and for the accused or his pleader to reply, with the prosecution allowed to address any point of law the defence raises.[1] Written arguments that map each element of the charge to the evidence, and identify the section 342 omissions, make the judgment easier to write and harder to appeal.

Judgment and acquittal in criminal cases

After arguments, section 265K requires the Court of Session to give judgment. Where a previous conviction is charged and disputed, section 265L allows evidence on it only after a conviction under section 265E or 265K, and the previous conviction is not read out or referred to before then.[1] In a magistrate's trial, section 245 requires an order of acquittal if the accused is found not guilty; otherwise the court passes sentence according to law.[1]

Other routes to acquittal or release

An acquittal can also come from the complainant's default. Section 247 requires a magistrate to acquit the accused in a case instituted on complaint if the complainant does not appear on the hearing date, unless the court adjourns for good reason; the 2026 Act reworded the opening so that it applies to any case instituted upon complaint, not only where a summons was issued.[1] [3] In cases instituted otherwise than on complaint, section 249 allows a Metropolitan or first-class magistrate, or another judicial magistrate with the Chief Judicial Magistrate's previous sanction, to stop the proceedings for recorded reasons and release the accused without judgment.[1]

False cases now carry mandatory compensation

Section 250 deals with the complainant whose accusation was false. Where a magistrate finds the complaint or information false and either frivolous or vexatious, the 2026 Act replaced "may" with "shall", so the complainant must be called on to show cause and, if the cause is insufficient, ordered to pay compensation. The maximum amounts were raised, with the Tk 1,000 ceiling becoming Tk 50,000.[3] An acquitted accused should ask for a section 250 finding at the time of acquittal rather than start a separate case.

The effect of acquittal

Article 35(2) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once, and article 35(3) guarantees a speedy and public trial.[5] Whether an order is a discharge, a release under section 249 or an acquittal after evidence should therefore be checked on its face.

Appeals and revisions against acquittal

An acquittal is not final until the appeal period has run. Section 417(1) allows the Government to direct the Public Prosecutor to appeal to the High Court Division against an acquittal by a Court of Session, and to the Court of Session against an acquittal by a magistrate.[2] Under section 417(2), in a case instituted on complaint, the complainant may appeal to the same courts, but only where the acquittal involves an error of law occasioning failure of justice, and section 417(3) bars a complainant's appeal after sixty days from the order of acquittal.[2]

On appeal, section 423(1)(a) allows the court to dismiss the appeal or reverse the acquittal and order further inquiry, retrial or conviction, and section 427 allows the acquitted accused to be arrested and held or bailed pending the appeal.[2] Revision is narrower: section 439(4) prevents the High Court Division converting an acquittal into a conviction.[2] The procedure in a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh acquittal appeal, limitation and further appeal are covered in our guides to criminal appeal, criminal revision and the criminal petition for leave to appeal.

Trial time limits under section 339C

Section 339C(1) requires a magistrate to conclude a trial within 180 days, and section 339C(2) requires a Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge or Assistant Sessions Judge to conclude it within 360 days, in each case from the date the case is received for trial.[1] Where the same person faces several cases, the periods run consecutively, and transfer of a case does not reset the clock. Days during which an accused on bail absconds are excluded.[1]

The consequence of overrunning is limited. Under section 339C(4), an accused charged with a non-bailable offence may be released on bail unless the court, for recorded reasons, directs otherwise; the trial continues and there is no acquittal. The section does not apply to cases under sections 400 and 401 of the Penal Code.[1]

The reality of delay

The limits sit against a heavy docket. Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman told Parliament on 7 July 2026 that 46,39,476 cases were pending in all courts, 28,26,213 of them criminal, with 23,87,989 criminal cases in the lower courts on 31 March, against 2,26,011 criminal cases disposed of by those courts over the past year.[13] Most delay in a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh lawyers handle comes from witnesses not appearing and from stays obtained in revision or under section 561A. A party that wants speed should put the section 339C date on the record, ask for witness summons by electronic means under section 69(4), and resist stays that are not essential.[3]

Criminal trial stages in the Magistrate court

Most criminal cases never leave the magistrate. Section 241 sets out the procedure magistrates observe in the trial of cases: discharge or charge under sections 241A and 242, admission and conviction under section 243, prosecution and defence evidence under section 244, and acquittal or conviction under section 245.[1] The section 342 examination, the section 339C clock of 180 days and the section 344 adjournment rules apply in the same way as in Sessions trials.[1]

The 2026 Act raised magistrates' maximum fines under section 32(1) to Tk 5 lakh, Tk 3 lakh and Tk 2 lakh across the three tiers, and abolished whipping.[3] Unlike a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh case, a magistrate's trial has no separate Public Prosecutor requirement under section 265A and no half-time acquittal provision in the form of section 265H.[1]

Summary trials under Chapter XXII

Section 260(1) allows a Metropolitan Magistrate, a first-class magistrate or a bench with first-class powers to try summarily offences not punishable with death, transportation or imprisonment exceeding two years, and listed offences including hurt under section 323, theft and dishonest misappropriation, receiving or concealing stolen property, and certain mischief. The property-value ceiling for theft and related offences is now Tk 5 lakh, up from Tk 10,000.[1] [3]

Section 262 applies the Chapter XX procedure and caps imprisonment at two years. Where no appeal lies, section 263 dispenses with recording evidence and a formal charge; where one lies, section 264 requires a judgment embodying the substance of the evidence.[1] New section 264A lets charge, evidence, the section 342 examination and judgment be completed in a single session where practicable.[3]

Step-by-step: running the defence through trial

The sequence below is the one TRW uses to prepare the defence in a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh case, or a magistrate trial, from cognizance to judgment. Each step is tied to a statutory provision so that the record shows the point was taken at the right time.

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Mistakes to avoid in a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh case

• Ignoring cognizance: a person dropped from the charge sheet who does not follow the naraji petition can be named in a cognizance order and a warrant without being heard.[6]
• Wrong remedy, late: section 561A is not a substitute for revision against a cognizance order, and a 388-day delay in revising the rejection of a naraji petition was not excused.[6] [10]
• Treating section 342 as a formality: inconsistent answers invite adverse inferences, and circumstances not put must be raised on the record.[1] [11]
• Skipping the half-time submission: where a link is unproved, apply under section 265H before the defence opens.[1]
• Assuming acquittal is final: complainant appeals lie for sixty days and Government appeals may follow.[2]

What to watch in 2026 and 2027

Three developments will shape how a criminal trial sessions court Bangladesh lawyers appear in actually runs. First, section 173B's investigation deadline and the power in section 173B(6) to treat an accused as a witness will push more disputes about who stands trial to the cognizance stage. Second, electronic summons and witness protection orders under sections 69(4) and 544(2) target the main cause of delay, and their use will show whether the section 339C limits can be met.[3]

Third, the High Court Division's recent decisions on naraji petitions do not all point the same way: Abdul Gani Contractor upheld a supplementary charge sheet after a naraji petition, while Monfor Ali quashed one the magistrate had directed.[8] [9] Until the Appellate Division settles the line, the safer course for informants is to ask for further investigation or a complaint inquiry under sections 200 and 202, not a direction about the outcome.[7]

TRW represents accused persons, complainants and companies from cognizance and naraji hearings through Sessions and Magistrate trials, acquittal appeals, revisions and section 561A applications. Our criminal quashment and High Court practice and criminal defence team can review the record and the next date in your case, or you can contact TRW directly.

Frequently asked questions

What are the stages of a criminal trial in a Sessions Court in Bangladesh?

After transfer under section 205C, the Public Prosecutor opens the case, the court decides discharge or frames charge, takes the plea, records prosecution evidence, examines the accused under section 342, considers acquittal under section 265H, takes defence evidence, hears arguments and gives judgment under section 265K.[1]

What does cognizance of an offence mean?

It is the court's decision to proceed on an offence. Under section 190 a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or first-class magistrate may take cognizance on a complaint, a police report or other information.[1]

Can I be tried if my name is not in the charge sheet?

Yes. The magistrate is not bound by the police report and may take cognizance against persons not sent up if there is prima facie material, as the High Court Division confirmed in January 2024. A naraji petition or supplementary charge sheet can also add an accused.[6] [9]

What is a naraji petition?

An informant's objection to a final report or charge sheet. The magistrate may treat it as a complaint and proceed under sections 200 and 202, or direct further investigation, but may not order the police to file a particular report.[8] [7]

What is the difference between discharge and acquittal?

Discharge under section 241A or 265C ends the case before charge because it is groundless or there is no sufficient ground to proceed. Acquittal under section 245, 265H or 265K follows evidence, and article 35(2) of the Constitution then protects against being prosecuted and punished again for the same offence.[1] [5]

What happens in a section 342 examination?

After the prosecution witnesses, the court questions the accused, without oath, so he can explain the circumstances against him. He cannot be punished for refusing to answer, but the court may draw inferences, and every incriminating circumstance must be put to him.[1] [11]

Can the accused give evidence in his own defence?

Yes, on his own written request. Section 340(3) makes the accused a competent defence witness, and his failure to testify cannot be commented on or give rise to any presumption against him.[1]

How long should a criminal trial take?

Section 339C sets 180 days for a magistrate and 360 days for a Court of Session from receipt of the case for trial. If the limit passes, an accused in a non-bailable case may be released on bail, but the trial continues.[1]

Can an acquittal be appealed?

Yes. The Government may appeal under section 417(1); a complainant in a complaint case may appeal within sixty days, but only for an error of law occasioning failure of justice. The High Court Division cannot convert an acquittal into a conviction in revision.[2]

What changed for trials under the CrPC (Amendment) Act 2026?

Act No. XI of 2026 added electronic service of summons, witness protection orders, same-session summary trials, mandatory compensation for false complaints, higher magistrate fine powers, wider dispensing with attendance and newspaper publication before trial in absence. Most provisions are deemed in force from 10 August 2025.[3]