CrPC § 485 — Imprisonment or committal of person refusing to answer or produce document

Statutory text (English)

If any witness
or person called to produce a document or thing before a Criminal Court refuses to answer such questions as
are put to him or to produce any document or thing in his possession or power which the Court requires him
to produce, and does not offer any reasonable excuse for such refusal, such Court may, for reasons to be
recorded in writing, sentence him to simple imprisonment, or by warrant under the hand of the presiding
Magistrate or Judge commit him to the custody of an officer of the Court for any term not exceeding seven
days, unless in the meantime such person consents to be examined and to answer, or to produce the
document or thing. In the event of his persisting in his refusal, he may be dealt with according to the
provisions of section 480 or section 482, and, in the case of a
[High Court], shall be deemed guilty of a
contempt.

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.485: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 170, 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. 170) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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