1. Any Court may alter or add to any charge at any time before judgment is pronounced.
2. Every such alteration or addition shall be read and explained to the accused.
3. If the alteration or addition to a charge is such that proceeding immediately with the trial is not likely, in the opinion of the Court to prejudice the accused in his defence or the prosecutor in the conduct of the case the Court may, in its discretion, after such alteration or addition has been made, proceed with the trial as if the altered or added charge had been the original charge.
4. If the alteration or addition is such that proceeding immediately with the trial is likely, in the opinion of the Court to prejudice the accused or the prosecutor as aforesaid, the Court may either direct a new trial or adjourn the trial for such period as may be necessary.
5. If the offence stated in the altered or added charge is one for the prosecution of which previous sanction is necessary, the case shall not be proceeded with until such sanction is obtained, unless sanction had been already obtained for a prosecution on the same facts as those on which the altered or added charge is founded.

No error in stating either the offence or the particulars required to be stated in the charge, and no omission to state the offence or those particulars, shall be regarded at any stage of the case as material, unless the accused was in fact misled by such error or omission, and it has occasioned a failure of justice.

Illustrations

1. A is charged under section 242 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), with “having been in possession of counterfeit coin, having known at the time when he became possessed thereof that such coin was counterfeit,” the word “ fraudulently” being omitted in the charge. Unless it appears that A was in fact misled by this omission, the error shall not be regarded as material.
2. A is charged with cheating B, and the manner in which he cheated B is not set out in the charge, or is set out incorrectly. A defends himself, calls witnesses and gives his own account of the transaction. The Court may infer from this that the omission to set out the manner of the cheating is not material.
3. A is charged with cheating B, and the manner in which he cheated B is not set out in the-charge. There were many transactions between A and B, and A had no means of knowing to which of them the charge referred, and offered no defence. The Court may infer from such facts that the omission to set out the manner of the cheating was, in the case, a material error.
4. A is charged with the murder of Khoda Baksh on the 21st January, 1882. In fact, the murdered person’s name was Haidar Baksh, and the dale of the murder was the 20th January, 1882. A was never charged with any murder but one, and had heard the inquiry before the Magistrate, which referred exclusively to the case of Haidar Baksh. The Court may infer from these facts that A was not misled, and that the error in the charge was immaterial.
5. A was charged with murdering Haidar Baksh on the 20th January, 1882, and Khoda Baksh (who tried to arrest him for that murder) on the 21st January, 1882. When charged for the murder of Haidar Baksh, he was tried for the murder of Khoda Baksh. The witnesses present in his defence were witnesses in the case of Haidar Baksh. The Court may infer from this that A was misled, and that the error was material.

   
1. any offence under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) may be tried by-
      
   1. the High Court, or

      

   2. the Court of Session, or

      

   3. any other Court by which such offence is shown in the First Schedule to be triable;Provided that any offence under section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D or section 376E¹ of the Indian Penal Code shall be tried as far as practicable by a Court presided over by a woman.

   

2. any offence under any other law shall, when any Court is mentioned in this behalf in such law, be tried by such Court and when no Court is so mentioned, may be tried by.-
      
   1. the High Court, or

      

   2. any other Court by which such offence is shown in the First Schedule to be triable.

¹ Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013

1. The State Government may establish a Directorate of Prosecution consisting of a Director of Prosecution and as many Deputy Directors of Prosecution as it thinks fit.
2. A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Director of Prosecution or a Deputy Director of Prosecution, only if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years and such appointment shall be made with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
3. The Head of the Directorate of Prosecution shall be the Director of Prosecution, who shall function under the administrative control of the Head of the Home Department in the State.
4. Every Deputy Director of Prosecution shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution.
5. Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under Sub-Section (1), or as the case may be, Sub-Section (8), of section 24 to conduct cases in the High Court shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution.
6. Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under Sub-Section (3), or as the case may be, Sub-Section (8), of section 24 to conduct cases in District Courts and every Assistant Public Prosecutor appointed under Sub-Section (1) of section 25 shall be subordinate to the Deputy Director of Prosecution.
7. The powers and functions of the Director of Prosecution and the Deputy Directors of Prosecution and the areas for which each of the Deputy Directors of Prosecution have been appointed shall be such as the State Government may, by notification, specify.
8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the Advocate General for the State while performing the functions of a Public Prosecutor.

1. For every High Court, the Central Government or the State Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutor, for conducting in such Court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on behalf of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may be.
2. The Central Government may appoint one or more Public Prosecutors for the purpose of conducting any case or class of cases in any district, or local area.
3. For every district, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors for the district:

   Provided that the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor appointed for one district may be appointed also to be a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, for another district.

4. The District Magistrate shall, in consultation with the Sessions Judge, prepare a panel of names of persons, who are, in his opinion fit to be appointed as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutors for the district.
5. No person shall be appointed by the State Government as the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for the district unless his name appears in the panel of names prepared by me District Magistrate under Sub-Section (4).
6. Notwithstanding anything contained in Sub-Section (5), where in a State there exists a regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor only from among the persons constituting such Cadre:

   Provided that where, in the opinion of the State Government, no suitable person is available in such Cadre for such appointment that Government may appoint a person as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, from the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under Sub-Section (4).

   Explanation – For the purposes of this Sub-Section:

   a) “regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers” means a Cadre of Prosecuting Officers which includes therein the post of a Public Prosecutor, by whatever name called, and which provides for promotion of Assistant Public Prosecutors, by whatever name called, to that post;

   b) “Prosecuting Officer” means a person, by whatever name called, appointed to perform the functions of a Public Prosecutor, an Additional Public Prosecutor or an Assistant Public Prosecutor under this Code.

7. A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor under Sub-Section (1) or Sub-Section (2) or Sub-Section (3) or Sub-Section (6), only if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years.
8. The Central Government or the State Government may appoint, for the purposes of any case or class of cases, a person who has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years as a Special Public Prosecutor.

   Provided that the Court may permit the victim to engage an advocate of his choice to assist the prosecution under this sub-section.

9. For the purposes of Sub-Section (7) and Sub-Section (8), the period during which a person has been in practice as a pleader, or has rendered (whether before or after the commencement of this Code) service as a Public Prosecutor or as an Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor or other Prosecuting Officer, by whatever name called, shall be deemed to be the period during which such person has been in practice as an advocate.

1. All Executive Magistrates, other than the Additional District Magistrate, shall be subordinate to the District Magistrate, and every Executive Magistrate (other than the Sub-divisional Magistrate) exercising powers in a sub-division shall also be subordinate to the Sub-divisional Magistrate, subject, however, to the general control of the District Magistrate.
2. The District Magistrate may, from time to time, make rules or give special orders, consistent with this Code, as to the distribution of business among the Executive Magistrates subordinate to him and as to the allocation of business to an Additional District Magistrate.

1. Subject to the control of the State Government, the District Magistrate may, from time to time, define the local limits of the areas within which the Executive Magistrates may exercise all or any of the powers with which they may be invested under this Code.
2. Except as otherwise provided by such definition, the jurisdiction and powers of every such Magistrate shall extend throughout the district.