CrPC § 357 — Language of record of evidence

Statutory text (English)

(1) The 1[Provincial Government] may direct that in any district
or part of a district, or in proceedings before any Court of Session, or before any Magistrate or class of
Magistrates the evidence of each witness shall, in the cases referred to in section 356, be taken down by the
Sessions Judge or Magistrate with his own hand and in his mother-tongue, unless he is prevented by any
sufficient reason from taking down the evidence of any witness, in which case he shall record the reason
of his inability to do so and shall cause the evidence to be taken down in writing from his dictation in open
Court.

(2) The evidence so taken down shall be signed by the Sessions Judge or Magistrate, and shall form part
of the record:

Provided that the 1[Provincial Government] may direct the Session Judge or Magistrate to take down
the evidence in the English language or in the language of the Court, although such language is not his
mother-tongue.

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.357: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 137, 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. 137) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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