CrPC § 203C — Complaint in case of fornication

Statutory text (English)

(1) No court shall take cognizance of an offence under
section 496A of the Pakistan Penal Code, except on a complaint lodged in a Court of competent
Jurisdiction.

(2) The Presiding Officer of a Court taking cognizance of an offence shall at once examine on oath the
complainant and at least two eyewitnesses to the act of fornication.

(3) The substance of the examination of the complainant and the eye-witnesses shall be reduced to
writing and shall be signed by the complainant and the witnesses, as the case may be, and also by the
Presiding Officer of the Court.

(4) If in the opinion of the Presiding Officer of a Court, there is sufficient ground for proceeding the
Court shall issue a summons for the personal attendance of the accused:

Provided that the Presiding Officer of a Court shall not require the accused to furnish any security
except a personal bond, without sureties, to ensure attendance before the Court in further proceedings.

(5) The Presiding Officer of a Court before whom a complaint is made or to whom it has been
transferred may dismiss the complaint, if, after considering the statements on oath of the complainant and
the witnesses there is, in his judgment, no sufficient ground for proceeding and in such case he shall record
his reasons for so doing.

(6) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions or anything contained in any other law for the time being
in force no complaint under this section shall be entertained against any person who is accused of zina under
section 5 of the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979 (Ordinance No. VII of 1979)
and against whom a complaint under section 203A of this Code is pending or has been dismissed or who has
been acquitted or against any person who is a complainant or a victim in a case of rape, under any
circumstances whatsoever.]

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.203C: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 103, 104, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 103, 104) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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