CrPC § 540A — Provision for inquiries and trial being held in the absence of accused in certain cases

Statutory text (English)

(1)
At any stage of an inquiry or trial under this Code, where two or more accused are before the Court, if the
Judge or Magistrate is satisfied, for reasons to be recorded, that any one or more of such accused is or are
incapable of remaining before the Court, he may, if such accused is represented by a pleader, dispense with
his attendance and proceed with such inquiry or trial in his absence, and may, at any subsequent stage of the
proceedings, direct the personal attendance of such accused.

(2) if the accused in any such case is not represented by a pleader, or if the Judge or Magistrate
considers his personal attendance necessary, he may, if he thinks fit, and for reasons to be recorded by him,
either adjourn such inquiry or trial, or order that the case of such accused be taken up or tried separately.]

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.540A: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 192, 193, 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. 192, 193) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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