CrPC § 340 — Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended and his competency

Statutory text (English)

to be a witness.-
(1) Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court, or against whom
proceedings are instituted under this Code in any such Court, may of right be defended by a pleader.
[
(2) Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court or against whom proceedings are
instituted under this Code in any such Court shall, if he does not plead guilty, give evidence on oath in
disproof of the charges or allegations made against him or any person charged or tried together with him at
the same trial:

Provided that he shall not be asked, and, if asked, shall not be required to answer, any question tending
to show that he has committed or been convicted of any offence other than the offence with which he is
charged or for which he is being tried, or is of bad character, unless—
(i) the proof that he has committed or been convicted of such offence is admissible in evidence to
show that he is guilty of the offence with which he is charged or for which he is being tried; or
(ii) he has personally or by his pleader asked questions of any witness for the prosecution with a
view to establishing his own good character, or has given evidence of his good character; or
(iii) he has given evidence against any other person charged with or tried for the same offence.]

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.340: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 127, 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. 127) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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