Proclamation for person absconding

 

” 82 Proclamation for person absconding.- (1) If any Court has reason to believe (whether after taking evidence or not) that any person against whom a warrant has been issued by it has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be executed, such Court may publish a written proclamation requiring him to appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing such proclamation.

(2) The proclamation shall be published as follows:-

(i) (a) it shall be publicly read in some conspicuous part of the town or village in which such person ordinarily resides;

(b) it shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which such person ordinarily resides or to some conspicuous place of such town or village;

(c) a copy thereof shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the Court-house;

(ii) the Court may also,if it thinks fit, direct a copy of the proclamation to be published in a daily newspaper circulating in the place in which such person ordinarily resides.

(3) A statement in writing by the Court issuing the proclamation to the effect that the proclamation was duly published on a specified day, in the manner specified in clause (i) of sub-section (2), shall be conclusive evidence that the requirements of this section have been complied with, and that the proclamation was published on such day.

[(4) Where a proclamation published under sub-section (1) is in respect of a person accused of an offence punishable under Section 302,304,364,367,382,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,402,436,449,4 59 or 460 of the Indian Penal Code ( 45 of 1860), and such person fails to appear at the specified place and time required by the proclamation, the Court may, after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, pronounce him a proclaimed offender and make a declaration to that effect.

(5) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) shall apply to a declaration made by the Court under sub-section (4) as they apply to the proclamation published under sub-section (1). ]”

11. Sub-section (4) of Section 82 of the Cr.P.C. appears to be applicable in respect of a person accused of an offence punishable under specific Sections of the Indian Penal Code indicated and the word proclaimed offender appears in the said Sub- Section (4) of Section 82 of the Cr.P.C. Some discretion has been given to court to hold inquiry before pronouncing any accused as proclaimed offender under sub-section (4) of Section 82 of the Code. Sub-Section (5) of Section 82 Cr.P.C. indicates that sub- section (2) and sub-section (3) shall apply to declaration made by the Court under sub- section (4) as they applied to the proclamation published under sub-section (1). In the present case we are not concerned with sub-section (4) because the petitioner is not an accused of the offence indicated under said sub-section (4) of Section 82 of the Code.