Section 466 CrPC: Defect or Error Not to Make Attachment Unlawful

Section 466 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 protected attachments from being invalidated solely by defects of form in related legal documents. Its corresponding provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Section 512 BNSS.

Text of Section 466 CrPC

Corresponding Section 512 BNSS

Section 512 - Defect or error not to make attachment unlawful.

The protection is substantially unchanged: the reference to the former Code is replaced with a reference to the Sanhita. The provision appears in Chapter XXXVII of the BNSS, dealing with irregular proceedings.

Meaning and scope of the provision

The word attachment refers here to a legally authorised process by which property is attached in accordance with criminal procedure. A defect or want of form means a technical or formal imperfection in the relevant process or paperwork. A writ of attachment is a formal direction authorising attachment in the circumstances prescribed by law.

The section establishes that a merely formal defect in a summons, conviction, writ of attachment or related proceeding does not, by itself, make the attachment unlawful. It also prevents the person executing the attachment from being characterised as a trespasser solely because of that formal defect.

What Section 466 CrPC and Section 512 BNSS protect

• Continuity of lawful process: a technical drafting or formatting defect does not automatically nullify an otherwise legally authorised attachment.
• Protection for the executing person: a person is not deemed a trespasser merely because the supporting process contains a formal defect.
• Substance over form: courts can distinguish an inconsequential formal error from a defect affecting legal authority or substantive rights.

Limits of the protection

Neither provision gives unrestricted authority to attach property. The wording is confined to a defect or want of form. It should not be read as automatically validating an attachment made without jurisdiction, statutory authority or compliance with mandatory substantive requirements. Whether a defect is merely formal depends on the facts and the applicable attachment provisions.

Illustrative example

Suppose an attachment is ordered by a competent court under the applicable criminal procedure, but a supporting writ contains a minor formatting error. Section 512 BNSS may prevent that error alone from making the attachment unlawful. By contrast, if no lawful power to attach the property existed, the provision does not itself create that power.

CrPC to BNSS transition: Section 531

Section 531(1) BNSS repeals the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Under Section 531(2)(a), specified appeals, applications, trials, inquiries and investigations pending immediately before commencement continue under the former Code as provided in the savings clause. Other parts of Section 531 preserve or address certain existing orders, notifications, sanctions and time limits. The correct procedural law must therefore be assessed for each matter rather than assumed solely from the date of a hearing.

Official legislative references

• Bureau of Police Research and Development - BNSS text and CrPC correspondence (PDF)
• Government of India - Section 531 BNSS, repeal and savings
• India Code - official central legislation database

Frequently asked questions

This article explains the statutory position for general information. The legality of a particular attachment depends on the governing law, court orders and case-specific facts.