Section 117: Costs of defence or prosecution

In any prosecution under this Act, the court may order such costs to be paid by the accused to the complainant, or by the complainant to the accused, as the court deems reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case and the conduct of the parties and the costs so awarded shall be recoverable as if they were a fine.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 14 October 2026. 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 117

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