1 Absconder

When some of several accused persons against whom a case is pending are
not traced, or could not be served with summons or could not be arrested and
produced before the Court or absconded after attending the Court for some
adjournments, the case may be split up against them and given a separate
case number, while continuing the case with the old number against the other
accused who have not absconded.

Obviously there will not be any occasion for assigning a different case
number when the sole accused absconds.

The procedure to be followed when an accused person absconds is indicated

in Sections 82 to 85. When an accused person absconds NBW is issued for
his apprehension and production before the Court.

The Police take sometime to execute the warrant, It will be appreciable if the
Court issued periodical reminders to the Police urging them to execute the
warrant or to submit a report if it is found that the warrant cannot be executed
for the reason that the whereabouts of the accused are not known, and after
such a report is received from the Police together with the unexecuted NBW,
the Court should issue a proclamation directing the accused to appear before
the Court on a specified date.

Simultaneously with the issuance of the proclamation an order for the

attachment of the movable or the immovable property of the absconding
accused may also be forwarded for due execution.
Attachment is effected by one of the methods mentioned in Section 83 if the
accused owns property. If he does not own any property a report to that effect
would be sent by the VAO to the SHO who forwards it to the Court along
with the report showing that proclamation has been duly effected.

Simultaneous orders for attachment would be issued along with the

proclamation only if an affidavit is filed by the prosecution that the
absconding accused is about to dispose of his properties.

If the absconding accused appears before the Court in obedience to the

proclamation within the time prescribed therein, the property should be
released from attachment. But if he does not appear, the property attached
may be sold but not before six months from the date of attachment.

If the absconding accused does not appear in response to the proclamation

and there is no likelihood of his being arrested in the near future the Court
should issue summonses to the prosecution witnesses cited in the charge-
sheet or the complaint and record their depositions under Section 299.

Thereupon the entire record should be submitted to the Sessions Judge who
passes orders transferring the case to the register of Long Pending Cases
(LPC) and the case will accordingly be given a LPC number by the trial
Court.

Thereafter the Magistrate once again issues NBW and forwards it to the SHO
for execution and it is better keep on issuing periodical reminders, so as to
keep the police awakened. As and when the accused person is apprehended
and is produced before the Court, the case is F§§t5red to its original number
and inquiry or trial is proceeded with according to law.
At such an inquiry or trial the statements recorded under Section 299 may be
used as prior statements for the purposes of Section 145 of the Evidence Act.
If all efforts to secure the presence of the accused have failed, the Court
addresses the Superintendent of Police to withdraw the case.

Generally, if the offences are not of a grave nature, sanction for withdrawal
would be granted and the Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) files a memo
withdrawing the case. With that the whole proceedings come to a close.