Allahabad High Court lays down trial-in-absentia guidelines under BNSS

The Allahabad High Court delivered a judgment dated May 5, 2026 laying down a detailed, step-by-step procedure for conducting criminal trials in the absence of a proclaimed offender under Section 356 BNSS. Key provisions include recording depositions via audio-video means, appointing an advocate for the absent accused at state expense if none is present, allowing trial to proceed after at least 90 days from framing of charges, issuing at least two consecutive arrest warrants with a 30-day interval, publishing notices in newspapers, informing relatives or friends, displaying trial information at the accused’s residence and at the local police station, and restricting appeals against conviction to those who present themselves, with a three-year absolute period from the judgment. The court also emphasized exhausting all standard coercive measures (warrants, proclamations, attachments, prosecutions under Section 209 BNS) and appointing an amicus curiae before invoking Section 356 BNSS. The bench kept the impugned NBW in abeyance for two months and allowed the trial court to act if the accused did not cooperate at any stage.

From October 2024, the accused did not appear before the trial court. As a consequence, non-bailable warrants were issued against him, and a proclamation under Section 82 CrPC along with attachment orders under Section 83 CrPC were passed.

Charges were framed in February 2024 in the presence of the accused before the trial court.

The applicant Ravi alias Ravindra Singh was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in 2021.