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Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 · Chapter XXXVII: Miscellaneous

Section 475: Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides.

Now in the BNSS section 521 (Delivery to commanding officers of persons liable to be tried by Court-martial)

In plain words

The Central Government can make rules on when persons subject to military, naval or air force law are tried by an ordinary criminal court or a court-martial. A Magistrate must follow those rules and, in proper cases, hand the accused with a statement of the offence to the commanding officer for court-martial.

  • Magistrates must do their utmost to arrest such persons on a commanding officer's written application.
  • A High Court can direct a prisoner to be brought before a court-martial for trial or examination.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

(1) The Central Government may make rules consistent with this Code and the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957), and the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), and any other law, relating to the Armed Forces of the Union, for the time being in force, as to cases in which persons subject to military, naval or air-force law, or such other law, shall be tried by a Court to which this Code applies, or by a Court-martial; and when any person is brought before a Magistrate and charged with an offence for which he is liable to be tried either by a Court to which this Code applies or by a Court-martial, such Magistrate shall have regard to such rules, and shall in proper cases deliver him, together with a statement of the offence of which he is accused, to the commanding officer of the unit to which he belongs, or to the commanding officer of the nearest military, naval or air-force station, as the case may be, for the purpose of being tried by a Court-martial.

Explanation.—In this section—

(a) "Unit" includes a regiment, corps, ship, detachment, group, battalion or Company,

(b) "Court-martial" includes any Tribunal with the powers similar to those of a Court-martial constituted under the relevant law applicable to the Armed Forces of the Union.

(2) Every Magistrate shall, on receiving a written application for that purpose by the commanding officer of any unit or body of soldiers, sailors or airmen stationed or employed at any such place, use his utmost endeavours to apprehend and secure any person accused of such offence.

(3) A High Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that a prisoner detained in any jail situate within the State be brought before a Court-martial for trial or to be examined touching any matter pending before the Court-martial.

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 475