Section - 301 to 305 of CRPC - GENERAL PROVISIONS AS TO INQUIRIES AND TRIALS

301. Appearance by Public Prosecutors.—(1) The Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge
of a case may appear and plead without any written authority before any Court in which that case is under inquiry,
trial or appeal.
(2) If in any such case any private person instructs a pleader to prosecute any person in any Court, the Public
Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge of the case shall conduct the prosecution, and the pleader so
instructed shall act therein under the directions of the Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor, and may,
with the permission of the Court, submit written arguments after the evidence is closed in the case.
302. Permission to conduct prosecution.—(1) Any Magistrate inquiring into or trying a case may permit the
prosecution to be conducted by any person other than a police officer below the rank of inspector; but no person,
other than the Advocate-General or Government Advocate or a Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor,
shall be entitled to do so without such permission:
Provided that no police officer shall be permitted to conduct the prosecution if he has taken part in the
investigation into the offence with respect to which the accused is being prosecuted.
(2) Any person conducting the prosecution may do so personally or by a pleader.
303. Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended.—Any person accused of an
offence before a Criminal Court, or against whom proceedings are instituted under this Code, may of right be
defended by a pleader of his choice.
304. Legal aid to accused at State expense in certain cases.—(1) Where, in a trial before the Court of
Session, the accused is not represented by a pleader, and where it appears to the Court that the accused has not
sufficient means to engage a pleader, the Court shall assign a pleader for his defence at the expense of the State.
(2) The High Court may, with the previous approval of the State Government, make rules providing for—
(a) the mode of selecting pleaders for defence under sub-section (1);
(b) the facilities to be allowed to such pleaders by the Courts;
(c) the fees payable to such pleaders by the Government, and generally, for carrying out the purposes of
sub-section (1).
(3) The State Government may, by notification, direct that, as from such date as may be specified in the
notification, the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply in relation to any class of trials before other Courts
in the State as they apply in relation to trials before Courts of Session.
305. Procedure when corporation or registered society is an accused.—(1) In this section, “corporation”
means an incorporated company or other body corporate, and includes a society registered under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860).
(2) Where a corporation is the accused person or one of the accused persons in an inquiry or trial, it may appoint
a representative for the purpose of the inquiry or trial and such appointment need not be under the seal of the
corporation.
(3) Where a representative of a corporation appears, any requirement of this Code that anything shall be done in
the presence of the accused or shall be read or stated or explained to the accused, shall be construed as a requirement
that that thing shall be done in the presence of the representative or read or stated or explained to the representative,
and any requirement that the accused shall be examined shall be construed as a requirement that the representative
shall be examined.
(4) Where a representative of a corporation does not appear, any such requirement as is referred to in subsection (3) shall not apply.
(5) Where a statement in writing purporting to be signed by the managing director of the corporation or by any
person (by whatever name called) having, or being one of the persons having the management of the affairs of the
corporation to the effect that the person named in the statement has been appointed as the representative of the
corporation for the purposes of this section, is filed, the Court shall, unless the contrary is proved, presume that such
person has been so appointed.