Stages of a Criminal Trial

Introduction:

According to William Blackstone, ‘an act that is omitted or committed in violation of public law or by either forbidding or committing it, constitutes a crime’. Crime means wrongs done by a human being. It is a human conduct that causes harm to the social and fundamental interest of society.

The procedure where all the punishments for the crime are provided is a Criminal Trial. A well-established maxim to charge someone against penal liability is Actus non facit reum nisi men sit rea which means an act is not the only component that amounts to guilt, even a guilty mind is a necessary component i.e. there should be a nexus between guilty act and guilty mind. The proof of motive is not required in a criminal prosecution as it is not a criminal element. In the case of Nathuni Yadav and Ors. Vs. State of Bihar and Anr[1] it was held that motive is an element that has an evidentiary value, it is not a prerequisite for the conviction of an offense and the mere absence of it shall not portray a person as guilty.

In India, the criminal trials are quite entrenched and have a judiciary, administrative and statutory framework. The criminal law in whole consists of three major acts that is:-

1. Indian Penal Code, 1860
2. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
3. Indian Evidence Act, 1872

The Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure are considered to be the twin sisters of criminal law.

Therefore in India, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is the procedural law for conducting criminal trials, whereas Indian Penal Code 1860 is the substantive criminal law.

Methods of Criminal Trial

There are also three methods under the Cr.P.C. to set in motion the process of criminal trial or criminal proceedings, those are:-

1. FIR under Section 154
2. Complaint to the Magistrate
3. Non-Cognizable under Section 155

Stages of Criminal Trial

Stage 1: Lodging a First Information Report (FIR)

Under Section 154 of the Cr.P.C.,[2] an FIR is registered. It is the pre-trial but it is considered to be the first stage of the Criminal Trial. Whenever a person commits any cognizable offense the FIR shall be lodged by the police officer against him. The FIR can be registered within whose jurisdiction the offense has been committed and when there is no jurisdiction it is called as Zero FIR.

Stage 2: Investigation

After lodging an FIR under Section 154 then as per Section 156 of Cr.P.C.[3] an Investigating Officer investigates the matter and he follows the procedure as provided under Section 157[4]. During the process of investigation, the police officer can arrest the suspect and take him for remand. After the arrest within a time limit of 24 hrs, the accused has to be brought before the Magistrate.

Stage 3: Remand under Section 167

Under section 167[5] the officer in charge can grant a remand if the investigation has not been completed within 24 hrs. The Magistrate shall grant police custody of the accused which shall be not more than 15 days. If the magistrate is not considered fit to grant police custody then he may grant Judicial Custody.

Stage 4: Bail

After the judicial custody has been granted the accused has the right to apply for Bail. The granting of Bail is dealt with under Section 436[6], 437[7] , and 439[8] of Cr.P.C.

Stage 5: Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

During the process of investigation, the officer-in-charge can search and seize the material from the possession of the accused.

Stage 6: Charge Sheet under Section 173

The conclusion is made by the Investigating Officer by examining the circumstances and the facts, by collecting evidence, examining and cross-examining various persons or witnesses, taking their statements in writing, and completing all the procedures. After all this, a police report is filed called the Charge Sheet. When it is seen to the police officer that a prima facie case has been made out then he puts up a charge sheet against the accused. After the filing of the charge sheet, then it is the actual trial that begins.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, there are three types of Criminal Trial and those are:

• Warrant Trial
• Summons Trial
• Summary Trial

Trial by Warrant Cases

The cases which are related to a serious offense and punishable with death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a term of 2 years are called Warrant cases. Section 2(x) of Cr.P.C. defines Warrant cases. The trial for these cases are conducted either by Session Courts or by Magistrate. The stages of trial in warrant cases are given from section 238 to 250 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

The trial of warrant cases by Magistrate is further classified into two parts:

1. Trial of cases instituted on Police Report
2. Trial of cases instituted other than on Police Report

Stages of Criminal Trial in a Warrant case when instituted on Police Report

Stage 1: First Information Report (FIR)

Stage 2: Investigation

Stage 3: Charges

Stage 4: Plea of guilty under Section 241 of Cr.P.C[9].

Stage 5: Prosecution evidence:

Stage 6: Statement of the accused under Section 313 of Cr.P.C[10].

Stage 7: Defence evidence

Stage 8: Judgement

Stages of Criminal Trial in a Warrant Case when Private Complaint institutes a case

1. Upon filing of the complaint, the complainant and the witness shall be examined by the court either on the same day or any other day to decide whether the offense is made against the person accused or not.
2. After the complainant’s examination, the magistrate shall order an inquiry and also submit the report for the same.
3. After this, if the court thinks that the prosecution has made a genuine case and has sufficient material for charging the accused then the Magistrate may order a warrant or summons, and on the other hand, if the court doesn’t think that a genuine case has been made then the court will dismiss the complaint and record its reason for dismissal.

Trial by Summons Cases

The definition of Summons case is given under Section 2(w) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. It states that those offensive cases which are punishable with imprisonment for less than 2 years is called summons cases. A magistrate after looking into the case can turn the summons case into a warrant case if he doesn’t consider it to be a summons case

Section 251 to 259 of Criminal Procedure Code 1973, deals with the stages of summons case

• Section 251: Substance of accusation to be stated
• Section 252: Conviction on plea of guilty
• Section 253: Conviction on plea of guilty in absence of accused in petty cases
• Section 254: Procedure when not convicted
• Section 255: Acquittal or Conviction
• Section 256: Non-appearance or death complaint
• Section 257: Withdrawal of Complaint
• Section 258: Power to stop proceedings in certain cases
• Section 259: Power of Court to convert someones/ cases into warrant/ cases

Stage 1: Pre-trial (FIR)

Stage 2: Charges

Stage 3: Plea of guilty

Stage 4: Plea of guilty and absence of the accused

Stage 5: Evidence of prosecution and defense

Stage 6: Judgement

Summary Trial

Those offensive cases which are punishable with an imprisonment of not less than 6 months can be tried in a summary way. These cases generally take 1 or 2 hearings. These trials are made for small offenses to reduce the burden of the courts.

Section 260 to 265 of Cr.P.C. provides the trial procedure for summary trial

• Section 260: Power to try Summary
• Section 261: Summary trial by Magistrate of second class
• Section 262: Procedure of Summary Trial
• Section 263: Record in Summary Trial
• Section 264: Judgement in cases tried summary
• Section 265: Language of record and judgment

1. The procedure that is followed in the summons case is the same for the Summary trial
2. Imprisonment up to 3 months can be passed
3. During the judgment of the summary trial, the judge should record the brief statement of finding of the court with reasons and also the substance of the evidence.

Conclusion

India is a country that has a highly enhanced criminal jurisprudence and proper prosecution system. While reading the Code of Criminal Procedure carefully one can easily understand that all the elements required for a fair trial are already present in it. Due to various pending cases, the judgments of various cases come long after the offense has been committed and in some cases even after the victim’s death.

Thus is the implementation of the code that matters and not having a foolproof or well-designed code.

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References:

[1] Criminal Appeal No. 194 of 1989

[2] 154. Information in cognizable cases.

[3] 156. Police officer’s power to investigate cognizable case.

[4] 157. Procedure for investigation preliminary inquiry.

[5] 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours.

[6] 436. In what cases bail to be taken.

[7] 437. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence

[8] 439. Special powers of High Court or Court of Session regarding bail.

[9] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1770169/

[10] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/767287/

Other Sources:

1. https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/stages-criminal-trial.html
2. https://lawtimesjournal.in/trial-of-warrant-cases/
3. https://bnblegal.com/article/stages-of-criminal-trial-in-india/