Chapter XVII
Section 222 CrPC: When offence proved included in offence charged
New Law Update (2024)
Section 254 BNSS
TRIAL COURT
Punishment
Procedural / Administrative
Cognizable?
Bailable?
Compoundable?
Bare Act Text
(1) When a person is charged with an offence consisting of several particulars, a combination of some only of which constitutes a complete minor offence, and such combination is proved, but the remaining particulars are not proved, he may be convicted of the minor offence, though he was not charged with it.
(2) When a person is charged with an offence and facts are proved which reduce it to a minor offence, he may be convicted of the minor offence, although he is not charged with it.
(3) When a person is charged with an offence, he may be convicted of an attempt to commit such offence although the attempt is not separately charged.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise a conviction of any minor offence where the conditions requisite for the initiation of proceedings in respect of that minor offence have not been satisfied.
Important Sub-Sections Explained
Section 222(1) & (2)
Sub-section (1) allows for conviction of a minor offence when a person is charged with a more serious crime, and only a subset of the proven facts constitutes that minor offence, even if it wasn’t separately charged. Similarly, Sub-section (2) enables conviction for a minor offence if the evidence reduces the gravity of the original charged offence to a lesser one, ensuring that a person can be held accountable for the proven lesser wrong.
Landmark Judgements
Satrughna Prasad v. State of Bihar, (2013) 7 SCC 135:
The Supreme Court clarified that Section 222 is an enabling provision, allowing conviction for a minor offence even if not specifically charged, provided the facts constituting the minor offence are integral to the main charge and are duly proved. It underscored the importance of ensuring that the accused is not prejudiced by such a conviction.
Dalbir Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1987 SC 1328:
This judgment emphasized that Section 222 applies where the evidence establishes a minor offence, which is either a constituent part of the major offence or where the facts proven reduce the major offence to a minor one. The Court highlighted that there must be an identity of acts and the prosecution must have led evidence covering the essential ingredients of the minor offence.