Jahanvi Agarwal
In one of the initial rulings under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the Punjab and Haryana High Court clarified that Section 531 of the BNSS mandates that any pending appeals filed before the BNSS came into effect must be adjudicated under the previous law, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). A single-judge Bench comprising Justice Anoop Chitkara issued the order on July 2 in a cheque bounce case.
“Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 explicitly specifies that pending appeals shall be disposed of or continued as if the new law had not yet taken effect, following the provisions of CrPC. The petition and the accompanying application seeking an extension of time were filed and registered in the registry of this Court when CrPC, 1973 was in force and were pending on the 1st of July 2024 … shall have to be adjudicated under S. 401 of the CrPC,” the order stated.
During a hearing, the court made observations on an application requesting a 38-day delay be excused for filing a criminal revision petition under Section 401 of the CrPC. The High Court examined whether pending proceedings should be governed by the old or new criminal code. It ultimately ruled that, according to Section 531(2)a of the BNSS, the proceedings would continue under the CrPC.
Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, specifies that any appeals, applications, trials, inquiries, or investigations pending as of June 30, 2024, will still be governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Court highlighted this provision, emphasizing its clarity and the continuation of the old code for pending matters.
As a result, the plea for condonation of the delay was granted. The case is scheduled to be heard on its merits on July 4.
Case Name: Mandeep Singh v. Kulwinder Singh and Anr.
Dairy Number: 2914/2023
Bench: Justice Anoop Chitkara