The Supreme Court has held that not appearing in a case even after being declared a fugitive is a ‘separate offence’ and the trial of this offense can continue even after the direction of declaring a fugitive has been cancelled.
The Supreme Court gave its verdict on January 2 on the appeal challenging the June 2023 decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The bench considered legal questions, including whether the status of an accused declared a criminal under the provisions of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) can continue even if he is tried in respect of the same offence. Is acquitted during.
Justice C.T. A bench of Justices Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol said, “We have come to the conclusion that section 174A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is a separate, substantive offence, which warrants recall of the order of declaring him a fugitive under section 82 of the CrPC.” May continue even after leaving. This is a different crime.
Section 82 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deals with declaring a person a fugitive. Section 174A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealt with non-appearance after being declared a fugitive under Section 82 of the CrPC.
“The object of Section 82 CrPC, as can be understood from a reading of the statutory text, is to ensure that a person who is summoned to appear before the court does so,” the bench said.
The top court said that the object and purpose of Section 174A of the Indian Penal Code is to ensure penal consequences for disobeying a court order requiring the attendance of a person.
