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Sections 229 to 232 CrPC: Guilty Plea, Prosecution Evidence and Acquittal

Sections 229, 230, 231 and 232 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 prescribe successive stages of a trial before a Court of Session: consideration of a guilty plea, scheduling witnesses, receiving prosecution evidence and acquittal when no evidence connects the accused with the offence.

Current legal position (October 2026): The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) came into force on 1 July 2024 and repealed the CrPC, subject to the savings under BNSS Section 531. The corresponding provisions are BNSS Sections 252, 253, 254 and 255. Pending proceedings may continue under the CrPC where the statutory savings apply.

Overview: CrPC Sections 229 to 232

CrPC	Purpose	BNSS
229	Record guilty plea; discretionary conviction	252
230	Fix date for witnesses and issue process	253
231	Receive prosecution evidence and regulate cross-examination	254
232	Acquit if there is no evidence of commission by the accused	255

These provisions follow the opening of a Sessions trial, discharge and framing of charge under Sections 225 to 228, and precede the defence, arguments and judgment under Sections 233 to 236.

Section 229 CrPC - Conviction on plea of guilty

Statutory effect: If the accused pleads guilty, the Judge must record the plea and may, in the Judge's discretion, convict the accused on that plea.

A plea of guilty is an admission of the charge by the accused. The obligation to record the plea is mandatory; conviction is discretionary rather than automatic. The court must consider whether the plea is clear, voluntary and informed. If conviction does not follow, the prosecution may proceed to the evidence stage under Section 230.

Section 230 CrPC - Date for prosecution evidence

Statutory effect: If the accused refuses to plead, does not plead, claims trial or is not convicted under Section 229, the Judge fixes a date to examine witnesses. On prosecution application, the Judge may issue process to secure attendance of witnesses or production of documents or other things.

This provision moves the case from the charge and plea stage to the presentation of evidence. Process means a court-issued direction, such as a summons, used to secure the required witness or material.

Section 231 CrPC - Evidence for prosecution

Sub-section (1): On the fixed date, the Judge takes the evidence produced in support of the prosecution.

Sub-section (2): The Judge may defer cross-examination of a witness until other witnesses have been examined or recall a witness for further cross-examination.

Prosecution evidence comprises admissible witness testimony, documents and other material tendered to establish the alleged offence. Cross-examination is questioning of a witness by the opposing party to test that evidence. The discretion to defer or recall witnesses regulates the order of the trial while remaining subject to fair-trial safeguards.

Section 232 CrPC - Acquittal after prosecution evidence

Statutory effect: After prosecution evidence, examination of the accused, and hearing both prosecution and defence on the point, the Judge must acquit if there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence.

Acquittal under Section 232 ends the trial at this stage without calling on the accused to present a defence. The statutory test is the absence of evidence connecting the accused with the offence, not a final assessment of all competing defence evidence. If that threshold for acquittal is not met, the accused proceeds to the defence stage under Section 233; this does not itself establish guilt.

BNSS Sections 252 to 255: Current Sessions trial procedure

Section 252 BNSS - Guilty plea

Like CrPC Section 229, the Judge records a guilty plea and may convict in the exercise of discretion.

Section 253 BNSS - Prosecution evidence date

Where there is no guilty-plea conviction, the Judge fixes a date for witnesses and may issue process for their attendance or for production of material on prosecution application.

Section 254 BNSS - Recording prosecution evidence

The Judge takes the prosecution evidence. The BNSS expressly permits evidence of a witness to be recorded by audio-video electronic means and permits deposition of a public servant by those means. It also retains judicial discretion to defer cross-examination or recall witnesses for further cross-examination.

Section 255 BNSS - Acquittal

Following prosecution evidence, examination of the accused and hearing both sides, the Judge must record an acquittal if there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence.

The India Code text of the BNSS should be read with its Section 531 repeal-and-savings rules to determine which procedure governs a particular case.

Official legal sources

Legal information updated 7 October 2026. State-specific amendments, applicable notifications, judicial decisions and transitional provisions should be checked for the particular proceeding.