Section 352 BNSS: Oral Arguments and Memorandum of Arguments

Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 governs concise oral arguments and the filing of a memorandum of arguments after the close of evidence. It also requires simultaneous service on the opposite party and restricts adjournments sought only for filing written arguments.

What Section 352 BNSS provides

Section 352 applies at the stage after a party has closed its evidence. It permits concise oral submissions and also allows that party, before concluding oral arguments, to submit a concise written memorandum arranged under distinct headings. The memorandum becomes part of the court record.

The provision promotes focused final submissions and discourages delay. A copy of the memorandum must be furnished to the opposite party at the same time. An adjournment merely to file written arguments is not to be granted unless the Court considers it necessary and records its reasons in writing.

Text of Section 352 BNSS

Meaning and practical effect

• Concise oral arguments: after evidence closes, a party may address the Court orally, but the arguments should remain concise and relevant.
• Written memorandum: before oral arguments conclude, a party may file a concise memorandum setting out its arguments under distinct headings.
• Part of the record: once filed, the memorandum forms part of the judicial record.
• Copy to the opposite party: the memorandum must be supplied simultaneously to the other side.
• No routine adjournment: time should not ordinarily be granted merely for filing written arguments. If an adjournment is considered necessary, the Court must record reasons in writing.
• Court control over submissions: the Court may regulate oral arguments that are not concise or relevant.

Corresponding provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 352 BNSS corresponds to Section 314 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which dealt with oral arguments and memoranda of arguments in substantially the same procedural setting. For proceedings governed by the BNSS, Section 352 is the current provision.

Why Section 352 matters in a criminal proceeding

Final arguments are the stage at which each side connects the evidence on record with the legal propositions relied upon. Section 352 gives parties a statutory basis to make concise oral submissions and to place a structured memorandum of arguments on record. At the same time, it protects the opposite party through simultaneous service and protects the proceeding from unnecessary delay by restricting adjournments sought only to file written arguments.