{"id":113258,"date":"2026-07-15T11:01:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=113258"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:01:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:31:58","slug":"trial-in-absentia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/trial-in-absentia\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial in Absentia: Understanding India&#8217;s New Legal Mechanism for Absconding Offenders"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Trial in Absentia Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a <\/span><b>non-bailable warrant against Hafiz Saeed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Pakistan-based chief of the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in connection with the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The warrant was issued at the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), two days after it filed a supplementary chargesheet against Saeed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since Saeed is unlikely to appear before an Indian court, the NIA is expected to seek a <\/span><b>trial in absentia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under <\/span><b>Section 356<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Background of the Case<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NIA&#8217;s supplementary chargesheet has charged Hafiz Saeed both in his individual capacity and as chief of LeT and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He has been charged under various provisions of the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/bharatiya-nyaya-sanhita-bill-2023-background-objectives-provisions\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)<\/a>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 2023, and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/unlawful-activities-prevention-act\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including provisions relating to waging war against India and conspiracy hatched from across the border.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is Trial in Absentia?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A trial in absentia refers to a criminal trial conducted in the absence of the accused.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under <\/span><b>Section 356 of the BNSS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, if a person declared a proclaimed offender has absconded to evade trial and there is no immediate prospect of arrest, the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">court may treat the accused&#8217;s absence as a waiver of their right to be present<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After recording reasons in writing, the court can proceed with the inquiry, trial, and pronouncement of judgment as though the accused were present.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Comparison with the Earlier CrPC Framework<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), which BNSS has replaced:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Section 82(4) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CrPC allowed proclamation and attachment of property of an absconding accused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Section 317<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> CrPC allowed trial in the accused&#8217;s absence only in specific cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Section 299<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> CrPC allowed recording of evidence in the accused&#8217;s absence if there was no prospect of arrest.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These provisions gave presiding officers discretion to proceed in-absentia only if the accused&#8217;s personal attendance was not necessary for justice, or if the accused persistently disrupted proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crucially, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">none of these provisions allowed a <\/span><b>full-fledged trial in absentia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, causing many trials to remain pending for years until the accused was apprehended.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BNSS&#8217;s Section 356 <\/span><b>addresses this gap<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by enabling complete trials, not just partial proceedings, in the accused&#8217;s absence<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Who Does This Apply To?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trial in absentia does not apply to every accused person; it is available only for a <\/span><b>&#8220;proclaimed offender<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,&#8221; as defined under <\/span><b>Section 84 of the BNSS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under Section 84(4), if a proclamation has been issued against a person accused of an offence punishable with imprisonment of 10 years or more, life imprisonment, or death, and the person fails to appear before the court, the court may declare them a proclaimed offender after due inquiry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, trial in absentia is <\/span><b>restricted to serious offences<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> carrying at least 10 years&#8217; imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death, where the accused has already been declared a proclaimed offender.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Procedural Safeguards Under Section 356<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To protect the accused&#8217;s right to a fair trial, several safeguards must be met before proceedings can begin:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two consecutive arrest warrants must be issued at an interval of at least 30 days.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A public notice must be published in a local or national newspaper, giving the accused 30 days to appear.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The notice must be displayed at the accused&#8217;s last known residence, and a relative or friend must be informed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trial cannot commence until 90 days have elapsed from the framing of charges, ensuring adequate opportunity for the accused to appear.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the accused has no legal representation, the court must appoint a defence lawyer at State expense.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statements of prosecution witnesses recorded before the trial may be used as evidence; however, if the accused is later apprehended, the court may permit cross-examination of witnesses in the interest of justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depositions and witness examinations may be recorded through audiovisual electronic means, preserved to ensure transparency, accuracy, and integrity, and to enable review if the accused is later apprehended.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trial in absentia under BNSS marks a significant shift from the CrPC&#8217;s fragmented approach, enabling complete trials of proclaimed offenders in serious cases while embedding robust safeguards.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It balances the need for timely justice against absconding offenders like Hafiz Saeed with the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/what-is-trial-in-absentia-explained\/article71220367.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk\/the-absentia-dilemma-the-introduction-of-trial-in-absentia-in-indian-legislation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">OHRH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trial in Absentia Latest News A Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a non-bailable warrant against Hafiz Saeed, the Pakistan-based chief of the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in connection with the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.\u00a0 The warrant was issued at the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), two days after &#8230; <a title=\"Trial in Absentia: Understanding India&#8217;s New Legal Mechanism for Absconding Offenders\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/trial-in-absentia\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Trial in Absentia: Understanding India&#8217;s New Legal Mechanism for Absconding Offenders\" target=\"_blank\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":113291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,8691,22,59],"class_list":["post-113258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-mains-articles","tag-trial-in-absentia","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113258"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113296,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113258\/revisions\/113296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}