Joinder of Charges

Introduction:

The essence of justice lies in a fair trial and criminal justice is no different. The information regarding the law of the charges is defined under chapter 19 of the code of criminal procedure. In the 19th chapter of the code of criminal procedure section 221 to246 deals with the law of charge and joinder of the charges. All charges under the code of criminal procedure,1973 shall state the crime with what the accused is charged in a precise manner to let the accused individual, known about the issue for which he is being charged. It is important and also necessary to let the accused know about the accusations made against him by the prosecution and in what charges he is being charged by the prosecutor. It is the general fundamental principle of the criminal law that the accused has the right to be informed about the exact charges he is being charged with. Hence, we see it is the right of the accused to know the accusations made against him and it is impossible because when the accused know the charges made against him then only, he can prepare for his defence in the court and then the justice is done to him. In the very start, the accused shall be informed about the charges he is accused of.

Under section 2(b) of code of criminal procedure,1973 charge is defined as any head of a charge when the charge contains more heads than one. Hence it can be interpreted that when a charge contains more than one heads, the head if charges are likewise a charge. Nature and purpose of the charge, it is an important point of a charge to be short and expressive in details in a precise manner. In VC Shukla vs state case justice Desai interprets that” the purpose of framing a charge is to give information to the accused of clear, unambiguous and precise notice of the nature of the accusations that the accused is called upon to meet in a course at a trial”.

Essentials of a Charge

Following are the essential conditions of a charge which are must for a charge.

1. Stating the offence: the charge must be in a precise manner and should clearly express the offence for which the charge is being made.
2. Explaining the offence by the name: the charge should clearly express the offence by the name which is given under the law.
3. Explaining and expressing the offence: the charge should explain all the essentials of the offence.
4. Mentioning the law and section of the offence: the charge should clearly express the section of the offence.
5. Substantial requirements of offence to be compiled with.
6. Language of the charge: the charge should either be in the English language or the language if the court in which the proceedings are going to be held.
7. Accused persons previous offences: the previous offences of the convicts shall be there In the charge.
8. Details of time, place and person: all the necessary details of the time and place of the offence and the details of the person accused should be there in the charge.
9. Details of the manner in which the offence is committed.
10. Details about the things in respect of which offence is committed.

In the session’s cases and in the types of warrant cases the charges are formed. Joinder of charges under the criminal procedure code. Section 218 talks about the two fundamental rules regarding the framing of charges. Firstly, there should be a different charge for each offence committed and secondary there are should be a separate trial for each such offence. But there are some exceptions to this rule which are mentioned under section 219, section 220, section 223 and section 221 of the code if the criminal procedure, 1973. In the case of K Satwant and State of Punjab AIR 1960 sc266, it was held that the sections of the joinder of charges are not compelling in nature.

Essential Provisions Relating to How the Charged Should be Framed

1. The general principles of charge as interpreted by section 218 of the code of criminal procedure,1973 is that every offence if which a particular has been accused shall come under a separate charge and each such charge shall be tried separately. This means that each offence should be considered as a separate entity and should be treated distinctly.
2. But section 218 (2) of the code of criminal procedure,1973 gave certain exceptions to this rule of section 218(1).
3. The expectations are mentioned in section 219 -223 of the code of criminal procedure,1973.

The provisions of section 219, 220, 221 and section 223 overrule the provisions under Section 218. Hence the joinder of charges is mentioned in the section 219-223 of the code of criminal procedure.

The Exceptions to Section 218.

1. According to section 219 (1) if a person has been accused of three offences of the same kind and all those offences are made within a period of twelve months then accused of the following offence can be charged for all such offences at the same time.
2. Section 219(2) talks about the offences which are of the same kind and the punishment for such offences are also similar then the principal of joinder if charges are applied.
3. Section 221 provides for the situation in which there is a doubt about what offences have been committed by the accused and in such cases the accused can be charged for all such offences together.
4. Section 223 of the code of criminal procedure talks about the class of persons who can be tried jointly and together. According to this section, the following classes of the person can be charged jointly.
5. The accused who have done the same crime in the same transaction.
6. Persons charged under section 411 and section 414 of the Indian penal code.
7. Persons charged under chapter XII of the Indian penal code of crimes related to counterfeiting of coins.

The rule contained from section 218 to section 223 was made at the privilege of both the accused and the court wherein the similar offences can be tried jointly rather than tried independently. The power and authority of doing so is given to the courts to combine the provisions if the charges of more than two clauses and the concept of doing so is named as joinder of charges. The main issue with the concept of the joinder of charges is that in the code of criminal procedure it only gives the guidance of joint trails at the last stage when the court decides the application of joinder of charges and not when the police register’s FIR. So, it does not give the guidelines on the investigation of the case and thus it creates confusion for police that weather to file a single FIR or multiple FIR’s.

Case Laws for Joinder of Charges

1. State v Khimji Bhai Jadega 8 July (2019)- In this case, the accused has allegedly floated a fake investment scheme and has acquired an amount of approximately 46 crores from 1850 investors. The court, in that case, has to decide that the accused is same in each complaint so is there a mandate of a separate FIR for each complaint or to make a single FIR for all the complainants. The court held that hence the amount, time and place of the fraud is different in each case so there should be Separate FIR for each complaint.

2. Amit Bhai shah v. CBI (2013)Cri.L.J 2313- In this case, the case was transferred from the local police to the CBI following the death of X, who was the prime witness in the case of alleged encounter of A and his wife B.(Which was already the subject matter of the FIR and charge sheet no. 1)

The CBI registered a fresh FIR and charge sheet for the same. The court disallowed the separate charge sheet for the same and stated that conspiracy alleged ( encounter killing of 2 people) was already covered in the first FIR and the supplementary charge sheet would be sufficient. The conspiracy and transaction being the same.

Conclusion

The framing and issuing if the charges are the first step and the most basic step to initiate a case or start the proceedings of the criminal cases. All due care is required while framing such charges as the wrong framing of charges can be a violation of the fundamental right of an individual and also the denial of justice which is illegal and wrong for a democracy like India. When the charges are wrongly framed it violates the right of a fair trial of an individual and this should be taken care of while framing of charges. While applying the principle of joinder of charges the judge should take all the due care and also have to give in writing about the reasoning of such acts. The sections which talk about the joinder of the charges has clearly stated that the power and authority of doing so are vested upon the courts. The court can provide changes and alterations or even additions until the judgement is announced by the judge in an official manner. It is the total discretion of the court on how and when to apply the joinder of charges in the criminal cases.

The court also has the power to deny the joinder of charges and the court can order a separate trial in cases wherein the joinder of charges or offenders is permissible and the same is observed by the supreme court of India in the case of  Union of India V. Ajeet Singh (2013)4scc that these principles are not binding in nature and they are just the guidelines for the court to carrying out a trial and it’s the discretion of courts to decide whether to apply it or not. Withdrawal of the remaining charge on conviction on one or several charges is defined under the Section 224 if code of criminal procedure, 1973.

References:

1. Aparajita Balaji, Joinder of charges under code of criminal procedure, https://blog.ipleaders.in/joinder-charges-crpc/
2. Sakshi Agarwal,Law times journal, legal article on charge, https://lawtimesjournal.in/charge/
3. Enotes, what is joinder of charges, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-joinder-charges-177581.
4. k Satwant and State of Punjab AIR 1960 sc266.
5. union of India V. Ajeet Singh (2013)4scc