Power to postpone or adjourn proceedings.

What this section does

Inquiries and trials must proceed on a day-to-day basis until all attending witnesses are examined; adjournments beyond the following day require recorded reasons, and for specified sexual offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 the trial must be completed within two months of chargesheet filing. Adjournments may be granted only for reasons beyond a party's control, with a maximum of two such adjournments, and an advocate's engagement in another court is not a valid ground; remand in custody under this section cannot exceed fifteen days at a time. Courts may record a present witness's statement if a party or advocate is absent or unprepared, and costs may be imposed as a condition of adjournment.

AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).

Procedure at a glance

Key actors

Court · Magistrate · Accused · Advocate · Prosecution · Witnesses

Time limit

Trial for offences under BNS ss.64–68, 70, 71 must be completed within 2 months of chargesheet filing; remand under this section not to exceed 15 days at a time; maximum 2 adjournments per party

Derived from CrPC s.309.