Person not charge sheeted has no right to be heard before summons: SC

PTI, NEW DELHI, MARCH 6, 2025 :  The Supreme Court on Thursday held that a person not named in the chargesheet as an accused did not have the right to be heard by a trial court before being summoned to face criminal trial. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, said if the high court considered the issue of summoning a person as an accused in a criminal case after the trial court rejected such a plea, the proposed accused did have a right to hearing. The bench was considering a legal question on Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Section 319 of the CrPC empowers the court to proceed against other persons appearing to be guilty of an offence if it comes to light during the inquiry or trial that the person, who is not named as an accused, has committed the offence.

"Section 319 does not contemplate that a summoned person must be given an opportunity of being heard before being added as an accused to face the trial. A right of hearing would accrue only to a person who is already discharged in the very same proceeding prior to the commencement of the trial," the bench said. Justice Pardiwala, who authored the judgment, further said: "This is different from holding that a person who has been summoned as per Section 319 CrPC has a right of being heard in accordance with the principles of natural justice before being added as an accused to be tried along with the other accused. However, after the rejection of an application under Section 319, a right enures in favour of the proposed accused."

The bench said if, in exercise of revisional jurisdiction, the High Court was to pass an order, then it was obligated in law to provide an opportunity of hearing to the proposed accused.