Section 247: Withdrawal of remaining charges on conviction on one of several charges
Section 247 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 makes it procedural to withdraw the remaining charges against an accused person who has already been convicted for one or more offenses.
Subsection (1) states that in multiple charge cases, once conviction has been obtained for one or more offenses, the prosecuting authority, whether complainant or public prosecutor, may apply to the court for the withdrawal of the remaining charges.
This provision is set to ensure only the most relevant charges are addressed to save the suspect from facing several concurrent trials. Withdrawals are subject to the approval of the court, which has to allow the dropping of charges before a charge is officially dropped.
In the event that the prosecution withdraws any remaining charges after a conviction, the accused is
acquitted of those specific charges. However, this acquittal is conditional upon the conviction on the original charge being valid. If the original conviction is set aside
-on appeal or otherwise, the court has the power to reinstate the case on the withdrawn charges, subject to any other order of the court that overruled the conviction. This means that the acquittal on the withdrawn charges is only interim, based on the finality of the conviction.
Subsection (3) grants the court an discretion to stay and postpone the processes or investigations regarding the outstanding charges even without a request from the prosecution.
This means that, after convicting, the court may decide to defer and stop continuing with the other charges pending on its own consideration.
This discretionary power prevents avoidable delays or complications in cases where the outcome of one charge will render the other charges inconsequential or even redundant.
