This article has been written by Srishti Singh, a 1st-year BA LLB student from the Army Institute of Law, Mohali. 

INTRODUCTION

Every accused has the right to be informed about the accusations made against him. This has been acknowledged in the sections dealing with charge in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Awareness regarding the charges laid against the accused allow him to defend himself in court whether the allegations made stand true or not. This ensures that he is given ample opportunity to defend himself and provided the right to be heard, which is a fundamental right as a subset of the right to life enshrined in Article 21. 

CHARGE 

Charge can be defined as informing the accused of the grounds on which he has been charged. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 vaguely defines charge in Section 2(b) as including any head of the charge when the charge contains more than one head. Charge is dealt with in Chapter XVII of the CrPC from Sections 211 – 224 along with Sections 227, 228, 239, 240 and 464. 

TYPES OF CASES WHERE CHARGES ARE FORMULATED 

Charges are formulated in three types of cases. These are –

1. Session cases dealt with in Section 228 of the CrPC
2. Warrant cases as established by the magistrate on the basis of furnished police reports as given under Section 240 of the CrPC
3. Warrant cases based on a personal complaint as under Section 24(1) of the CrPC

PROVISIONS DEALING WITH CHARGE

Section 211 of the CrPC lists the essential elements of charge – 

1. The offence with which the accused is charged must be stated clearly in the charge form. 
2. The offence with which the accused has been charged must be specified in the exact name of the offence. 
3. If there is no specific name given to the offence with which the accused is charged, then the definition of the offence must be stated and informed to the accused. 
4. The law and the provisions of law which have been violated by the commission of the offence also need to be mentioned in the charge. 
5. The law and the provisions of law applicable must be mentioned in the form.
6. The charge must be written in the language of the court. 
7. The accused shall also be informed about previous allegations made against him and all the allegations must be considered in totality while deciding the punishment for him. 

Section 212 – It is stated in Clause 1 of this section that every charge shall contain the specific details of the time and place of the alleged offence, and the person against whom or the thing against which the said offence was allegedly committed. This is to provide sufficient information to the accused about why he has been charged. 

Clause 2 of the section states that if an accused is charged with criminal breach of trust or dishonest misappropriation of money or of any other moveable property, then the sum or the description of the movable property in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed along with the dates between which or on which it is believed to have been committed shall suffice, granted that the time between the first and last dates does not exceed an year. 

Section 213 – In case, the particulars mentioned as per sections 211 and 212 do not provide sufficient information regarding the charge made against the accused, then it is imperative that the charge also contain information pertaining to the manner in which the alleged offence was committed as may prove to be sufficient for the same. 

Section 214 – This section states that in every charge, the words used to describe the alleged offence should be deemed to have the same meaning as attached to them by the law under which the said offence is mentioned and made punishable. 

Section 216 – All courts where the court proceedings are to take place, have the power to alter or add to any charge at any time before the judgment is pronounced and the accused has the right to be read and explained any such alterations made to the charge. In case the alteration or addition to charge is such that the trial may not begin immediately anymore, then the changes to the charge made need to be treated such that it was the original charge. However, if the changes in the charge are such that the trial may commence immediately, the court may either direct a new trial or adjourn the trial for whatever amount of time required. 

If the alterations or additions in the charge for prosecution are such for which sanctions are necessary, then the case shall only proceed when the required sanctions are obtained, but if such sanctions are already obtained, then the court may proceed further with the trial then and there. 

Section 217 – If a charge is altered or added upon by the court after the trial has commenced, the prosecutor and the accused shall be allowed to recall or re-summon and conduct examination of any witnesses who may have been examined before the changes to the charge were made. The court also has the power to call any witnesses who have not been called before. 

Section 218 – This section states that there shall be a separate charge for every distinct offence of the accused and every such charge must be tried separately. However, if the accused makes an application to the magistrate and the latter deems the former free of any prejudice, the magistrate may try together all or any number of charges framed against the accused. 

EXCEPTIONS TO THE BASIC RULES OF CHARGE 

Section 219 – This section states that when a person is accused of more than one of the same kind of offences within the time period of one year, irrespective of the fact whether it has been committed against the same person, then he may be charged with and tried at in one trial for any number of offences but not exceeding three. Offences of the same kind are those which have the same amount of punishment under the same section of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or in any special or local laws.  

Section 220 – If a person commits a series of acts of a similar nature which are all offences and are more than one in number, then he may be charged with and tried only once for all the offences committed. If the alleged acts of the accused fall in two or more separate definitions in distinct laws in force, then he may be charged and tried at one trial for all of them. If a series of acts individually and together constitute different offences, the accused may be charged with and tried at one trial for the offence(s). 

Section 221 – This section states that if an act or a series of acts is of such nature that it is doubtful whether they constitute an offence or offences, the accused may be charged with all or any of the offences and any number of these charges may be tried at once, or he may be charged with having committed only some of the offences, whichever is more relevant. Moreover, if an accused has been charged with one offence but, it is proved before the court that he has also committed another offence, although he wasn’t charged with it, then he may be convicted of the proved offence. 

Section 222 – This section states that if a person is charged with several offences with different particulars, and some of the particulars combine to create another offence, then if such offence is proven, then the accused can be held liable for these offences even if initially, he was not charged with them. Similarly, if a person is charged with some offences, then he can also be held liable for attempting to commit these offences. 

Section 223 – This section provides some rules for charge whereby persons committing the same offence can be charged together. 

1. It states that if the persons accused of the same offence committed the act in the same course, then they can be charged together. 
2. When a person is accused of an offence and other persons are accused of abetting it, or attempting to commit it, then they can be charged together. 
3. When the number of offences committed is more than one as per section 219 and they are committed jointly. 
4. When persons are accused of committing different offences in the same course can also be charged together. 
5. If the person is accused of offences including cheating, theft, criminal misappropriation, and the offence of a property that is concealed. 
6. If persons are accused of offences under section 411 and 414.
7. If persons are accused of any offence under Chapter XII of the Indian Penal Code in relation to counterfeit coins and any other persons in relation to the same.

WITHDRAWAL OF REMAINING CHARGE ON CONVICTION ON ONE OF SEVERAL CHARGES 

Section 224 – This section states that if a charge with more than one heads is framed against a person, and when a conviction has been made on one or more of them, the complainant or the prosecutor may with the consent of the court withdraw the remaining charge or charges and this shall have the effect of an acquittal. On the other hand, the court may decide to retain the inquiry or the trial for such charge. The court may also decide to set aside the conviction thus, empowering it to proceed with the inquiry or trial of the charges made. 

EFFECT OF ERROR 

Section 215 – No errors shall be made in stating the offence or the particulars of the offence required to be stated in the charge. Moreover, any omission in stating the offence or the particulars of the offence shall not be accepted. Any such act or omission shall not be regarded as material to the case, unless the accused was misled by such error or omission and it has led to a failure of justice. 

Section 464 – This section states that no finding sentence or order by a Court of competent jurisdiction will be deemed invalid merely on the ground that no charge was framed or the grounds of any errors, omissions or irregularities in charge including its misjoinder unless, the Court is of the opinion that failure of justice has occurred. If a court of confirmation, appeal or revision believes that a failure of justice has occurred then it may in the case any omission in the framing of a charge, order a charge to be framed and restart the trial immediately after the charge is framed, or in the case of any errors, omissions or irregularities direct a new trial to be conducted on a charge in whatever manner it deems it. 

DISCHARGE

Discharge of an accused is dealt with in Section 227 of the CrPC whereby it is stated that if the Judge, after considering all the records of the case and submitted documents, and after the hearing of submissions by the accused and the prosecutor considers that there is not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, he shall discharge the accused and record his reasons for doing so. Section 239 further elaborates upon when the accused shall be discharged when the trial is being conducted before a magistrate, the conditions of which remain similar to that of Section 227. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

• In Dalbir Singh v. State of U.P. [(2004) 5 SCC 334], the three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that it is possible for the appellate or revisional court to convict the accused for an offence for which no charge was framed unless, the court believes that there may be failure of justice in the process. 

• In K. Prema S. Rao & Anr. v. Yadla Srinivasa Rao & Ors. [(2003) 1 SCC 217], the Court held that though the charge was not framed specifically under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), all the ingredients constituting the offence were mentioned in the statement of charges, so the charge was considered valid. 

• In State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy [(1977) 2 SCC 699], the court observed that at the time of the framing of charge, the court has to apply its mind to the question whether or not there is any ground for presuming the commission of the offence by the accused. 

• In Tulsi Ram & Ors. V. State of Uttar Pradesh [AIR 1963 SC 666], the Court refused to accept any grievances relating to the error in the framing of the charge as the complaint about the same was not raised at an earlier stage and by that time, the Judges had come to the conclusion that the appellants fully understood the meaning of the charge. 

• In V.C. Shukla v. State Through C.B.I. [1980 SCR (2) 380], Justice Desai delivering a concurring opinion, opined that ‘the purpose of framing a charge is to give intimation to the accused of clear, unambiguous and precise notice of the nature of accusation that the accused is called upon to meet in the course of a trial’.

CONCLUSION 

Charge has a significant role to play in criminal trials. It governs the manner of investigation and the nature of evidence to be gathered in support of or against the accused. Therefore, charge lays the foundation for the criminal trial and so, it must be dealt with utmost diligence and care. 

REFERENCES

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjAzdjDq4n-AhV7r1YBHdd3CdQQFnoECCAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lawyersclubindia.com%2Farticles%2Fcharges-under-crpc-all-you-need-to-know–14807.asp&usg=AOvVaw3Xuhre0HSaL7aEUQSPhOsv

https://blog.ipleaders.in/need-know-charge-criminal-procedure-code-1973/

https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/sites/default/files/MANJULA%20ADDLJCJ%20SIRCILLA.pdf

https://legalupanishad.com/charge-under-crpc-1973-criminal/