CrPC § 352 — Courts to be open

Statutory text (English)

The place in which any Criminal Court is held for the purpose of inquiring into or trying
any offence shall be deemed an open Court, to which the public generally may have access, so far as the same can
conveniently contain them:
3[
(1)]

Provided that the Presiding Judge or Magistrate may, if he thinks fit, order at any stage of any inquiry into,
or trial of, any particular case, that the public generally, or any particular person, shall not have access to, or be or
remain in, the room or building used by the Court.
3["
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section

(1), the trial of offences under sections 354A, 376,
376A, 377 and 377B of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860) shall be conducted in camera:

Provided that the Presiding Officer, if he thinks fit, or on an application made by either of the parties, allow any
particular person to have access to, or be or remain in, the Court.

(3) Where any proceeding are held under sub-section

(2), the Government may adopt appropriate measures,
including holding of the trial through video link or usage of screens, for protection of the victim and the witnesses.

(4) Where any proceedings are held under sub-section

(2), it shall not be lawful for any person to print or publish
or broadcast any matter in relation to any such proceedings, except with permission of the Court.].

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.352: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 135, 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. 135) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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