BNSS Section 340: Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended (formerly CrPC 303)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNSS 340: Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended
From 1 July 2024
Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court, or against whom proceedings are instituted under this Sanhita, may of right be defended by an advocate of his choice.
What it replaced in the CrPC
BNSS 340 ← CrPC 303 · Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defendedChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: "Pleader" is replaced by "Advocate".
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court, or against whom proceedings are instituted under this Code, may of right be defended by a pleader of his choice.
Which one applies
Procedure follows the proceeding. Under section 531(2)(a) of the BNSS, an appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation already pending on 1 July 2024 continues under the CrPC; one begun on or after that date proceeds under the BNSS.
Read BNSS section 531 →Judgments decided under CrPC 303
They remain the law on CrPC 303. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 26.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 36.
- The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.