The essential requirements of section 82 Cr.P.C. for issuance and publication of proclamation against an absconder and declaring him as proclaimed person/offender were discussed as under:
(i) Prior issuance of warrant of arrest by the Court is sine qua non for issuance and publication of the proclamation and the Court has to first issue warrant of arrest against the person concerned. (See Rohit Kumar Vs. State of Delhi : 2008 Crl. J. 2561).
(ii) There must be a report before the Court that the person against whom warrant was issued had absconded or had been concealing himself so that the warrant of arrest could not be executed against him.
However, the Court is not bound to take evidence in this regard before issuing a Proclamation under Section 82 (1) of the Cr.P.C.. (See Rohit Kumar Vs. State of Delhi : 2008 Crl. J. 2561).
(iii) The Court cannot issue the Proclamation as a matter of course because the Police is asking for it. The Court must be prima facie satisfied that the person has absconded or is concealing himself so that the warrant of arrest, previously issued, cannot be executed, despite reasonable diligence. (See Bishundayal Mahton and others Vs. Emperor : AIR 1943 Patna 366 and Devender Singh Negi Vs.State of U.P. : 1994 Crl LJ (Allahabad HC) 1783).
(iv) The requisite date and place for appearance must be specified in the proclamation requiring such person to appear on such date at the specified place. Such date must not be less than 30 clear days from the date of issuance and publication of the proclamation. (See Gurappa Gugal and others Vs. State of Mysore : 1969 Cri LJ 826 and Shokat Ali Vs. State of Haryna : 2020(2) RCR (Criminal) 339).
(v) Where the period between issuance and publication of the proclamation and the specified date of hearing is less than thirty days, the accused cannot be declared a proclaimed person/offender and the proclamation has to be issued and published again. (See Dilbagh Singh Vs. State of Punjab (P&H) : 2015 (8) R.C.R. (criminal) 166 and Ashok Kumar Vs. State of Haryana and another : 2013 (4) RCR (Criminal) 550).
(vi) The Proclamation has to be published in the manner laid down in Section 82 (2) of the Cr.P.C.. For publication the proclamation has to be first publicly read in some conspicuous place of the town or village in which the accused ordinarily resides; then the same has to be affixed to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which the accused ordinarily resides or to some conspicuous place of such town or village and thereafter a copy of the proclamation has to be affixed to some conspicuous part of the Court-house.
The three sub-clauses (a)-(c) in Section 82 (2)(i) of the Cr.P.C. are conjunctive and not disjunctive, which means that there would be no valid publication of the proclamation unless all the three modes of publication are proved. (See Pawan Kumar Gupta Vs. The State of W.B. : 1973 CriLJ 1368). Where the Court so orders a copy of the proclamation has to be additionally published in a daily newspaper circulating in the place in which the accused ordinarily resides. Advisably, proclamation has to be issued with four copies so that one each of the three copies of the proclamation may be affixed to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which the accused ordinarily resides, to some conspicuous place of such town or village and to some conspicuous part of the Court-house and report regarding publication may be made on the fourth copy of the proclamation. Additional copy will be required where the proclamation is also required to be published in the newspaper.
(vii) Statement of the serving officer has to be recorded by the Court as to the date and mode of publication of the proclamation. (See Birad Dan Vs. State : 1958 CriLJ 965).
(viii) The Court issuing the proclamation has to make a statement in writing in its order that the proclamation was duly published on a specified day in a manner specified in Section 82(2)(i) of the Cr.P.C.. Such statement in writing by the Court is declared to be conclusive evidence that the requirements of Section 82 have been complied with and that the proclamation was published on such day. (See Birad Dan Vs. State : 1958 CriLJ 965).
(xi) The conditions specified in Section 82(2) of the Cr.P.C. for the publication of a Proclamation against an absconder are mandatory. Any non-compliance therewith cannot be cured as an ‘irregularity’ and renders the Proclamation and proceedings subsequent thereto a nullity. (See Devendra Singh Negi alias Debu Vs. State of U.P. and another : 1994 CriLJ 1783 and Pal Singh Vs. The State : 1955 CriLJ 318).
While interpreting, the provision of Section 82 (1) Cr.P.C., this Court in Ashok Kumar vs. State of Haryana and another 2013(4) RCR (Criminal) 550, held that a period of 30 days is required to be given to the accused and that even in case, the Court adjourns the matter subsequently, such adjournment beyond 30 days cannot be treated as compliance of requisite provisions.
Similar proposition of law was laid down in Prit Pal Singh vs. State of Punjab and others, CRM-M-40897-2019, decided on 03.02.2020.
In view of the referred judgments, in the present case as well, since the period of 30 days from the date when the proclamation was issued on 09.06.2025 and when the accused was directed to be present in the Court on 05.07.2025, had not lapsed, the matter was adjourned to subsequent date. This adjournment, would not cure the initial defect.
Further, there is nothing in the report of the executing constable that he had read the proclamation order at the site, which he was required to do. In view of the said flaw, it is evident that there has been no compliance of sub clause (i) of Sub Section 2 of Section 82 Cr.P.C
Thus the PO Order was set aside by Punjab and Haryana HighCourt Chandigarh.
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In Indian criminal law, the proclamation process under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is used to compel an accused person to appear in court when a warrant has been issued and the person is absconding or concealing themselves. The process involves the court issuing a written proclamation ordering the accused to appear at a specific time and place, which is then publicly published in several ways to ensure widespread notice. [1, 2, 3]
Steps in the proclamation process
1. Issuance of a warrant: A warrant must first be issued against the accused.
2. Court’s belief: The court must have a reason to believe that the person has absconded or is concealing themselves to evade the warrant’s execution.
3. Written proclamation: The court issues a written proclamation that:
• Orders the accused to appear at a specific place and time.
• Specifies a time period of at least 30 days from the date of publication.
4. Publication of the proclamation: The proclamation must be published in the following ways:
• Publicly read in a conspicuous place in the town or village where the person ordinarily resides.
• Affixed to a conspicuous part of the person’s home or a conspicuous place in the town or village.
• Affixed to a conspicuous part of the courthouse.
• The court may also order a copy to be published in a local newspaper.
5. Conclusive evidence: A statement from the court confirming the proper publication of the proclamation is considered conclusive proof that the requirements have been met.
6. Consequences of non-appearance:
• Failure to appear as required can lead to the accused being declared a proclaimed offender.
• Under the new criminal law regime (Section 174A of the Indian Penal Code), failing to appear can result in imprisonment of up to three years, with additional severe penalties if declared a proclaimed offender.
• The court can also order the attachment of the person’s property to force them to comply with the proclamation. [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://vajiramandravi.com/current-affairs/section-82-of-code-of-criminal-procedure-crpc/
[2] https://devgan.in/crpc/section/82/
[3] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBd1CSFs9lE/
[5] https://www.defactojudiciary.in/notes/proclamation-and-attachment-crpc
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