Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Non-appearance or death of complainant.

256. (1) If the summons has been issued on complaint, and on the day appointed for the appearance of the accused, or any day subsequent thereto to which the hearing may be adjourned, the complainant does not appear, the Magistrate shall, notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, acquit the accused, unless for some reason he thinks it proper to adjourn the hearing of the case to some other day:

Provided that where the complainant is represented by a pleader or by the officer conducting the prosecution or where the Magistrate is of opinion that the personal attendance of the complainant is not necessary, the Magistrate may dispense with his attendance and proceed with the case.

(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be, apply also to cases where the non-appearance of the complainant is due to his death.

LAW COMMISSION REPORTS

Complainant's death - As to the question whether the complainant's death ends the proceedings in a summons-case, the Law Commission observed that as a matter of policy, the answer should depend on the nature of the case and the stage of the proceedings at which death occurs, the Commission observed :

"It is impracticable to detail the various situations that may arise and the considerations that may have to be weighed. We think, in the circumstances, that the decision should be left to the judicial discretion of the court, and, the legal provision need only be that death and absence stand on the same footing. We trust this will in practice work satisfactorily."

Sub-section (2) of this section is intended to achieve this objective.