Section 280D — Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to proceedings before Special Court
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live (inserted by the Finance Act, 2012, w.e.f. 1 July 2012).
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: The Code of Criminal Procedure (including bail/bond provisions) applies to proceedings before a Special Court; the prosecutor is deemed a Public Prosecutor; the Central Government may appoint a Special Public Prosecutor (minimum seven years' practice).
Litigation profile: Sparse — procedural; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Applying the CrPC and appointing prosecutors
Section 280D completes the procedural code. Save as otherwise provided in the Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure — including those as to bail and bonds — apply to proceedings before a Special Court, and the person conducting the prosecution is deemed to be a Public Prosecutor. The Central Government may also appoint, for any case or class of cases, a Special Public Prosecutor. Sub-section (2) prescribes a qualification: a person is not eligible to be appointed Public Prosecutor or Special Public Prosecutor unless he has practised as an advocate for not less than seven years, with the requisite special knowledge of law; and sub-section (3) deems him a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of the Code.
Bail and overall character
By applying the CrPC bail provisions and the non-cognizable classification of section 279A, the scheme ensures that the accused in Chapter XXII prosecutions enjoys the ordinary protections of criminal procedure. Section 280D is the residual, gap-filling provision that integrates the specialised Special-Court regime with the general criminal-procedure law.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 280D is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to proceedings before Special Court.
280D. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(2 of 1974) (including the provisions as to bails or bonds), shall apply to the proceedings before a Special Court and the person conducting the prosecution before the Special Court, shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor:
Provided that the Central Government may also appoint for any case or class or group of cases a Special Public Prosecutor.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years, requiring special knowledge of law.
C. AUTHORITIES
No reported decision construes section 280D directly (candour rule). It applies the general Code of Criminal Procedure to Special-Court proceedings; the CrPC jurisprudence on bail, public prosecutors and trial procedure governs.
Cognate context — CrPC application and bail
Application of the Code of Criminal Procedure to Special-Court proceedings
Court/Year Procedural context.
Holding The CrPC (including bail/bond provisions) governs proceedings before the Special Court; general criminal-procedure jurisprudence applies. No section-specific interpretive authority is reported. Candour rule applies.
CHAPTER XXII — OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
Section 280D — Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to proceedings before Special Court
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live (inserted by the Finance Act, 2012, w.e.f. 1 July 2012).
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: The Code of Criminal Procedure (including bail/bond provisions) applies to proceedings before a Special Court; the prosecutor is deemed a Public Prosecutor; the Central Government may appoint a Special Public Prosecutor (minimum seven years' practice).
Litigation profile: Sparse — procedural; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Applying the CrPC and appointing prosecutors
Section 280D completes the procedural code. Save as otherwise provided in the Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure — including those as to bail and bonds — apply to proceedings before a Special Court, and the person conducting the prosecution is deemed to be a Public Prosecutor. The Central Government may also appoint, for any case or class of cases, a Special Public Prosecutor. Sub-section (2) prescribes a qualification: a person is not eligible to be appointed Public Prosecutor or Special Public Prosecutor unless he has practised as an advocate for not less than seven years, with the requisite special knowledge of law; and sub-section (3) deems him a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of the Code.
Bail and overall character
By applying the CrPC bail provisions and the non-cognizable classification of section 279A, the scheme ensures that the accused in Chapter XXII prosecutions enjoys the ordinary protections of criminal procedure. Section 280D is the residual, gap-filling provision that integrates the specialised Special-Court regime with the general criminal-procedure law.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 280D is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to proceedings before Special Court.
280D. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(2 of 1974) (including the provisions as to bails or bonds), shall apply to the proceedings before a Special Court and the person conducting the prosecution before the Special Court, shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor:
Provided that the Central Government may also appoint for any case or class or group of cases a Special Public Prosecutor.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years, requiring special knowledge of law.
C. AUTHORITIES
No reported decision construes section 280D directly (candour rule). It applies the general Code of Criminal Procedure to Special-Court proceedings; the CrPC jurisprudence on bail, public prosecutors and trial procedure governs.
Cognate context — CrPC application and bail
Application of the Code of Criminal Procedure to Special-Court proceedings
Court/Year Procedural context.
Holding The CrPC (including bail/bond provisions) governs proceedings before the Special Court; general criminal-procedure jurisprudence applies. No section-specific interpretive authority is reported. Candour rule applies.