Section 497 — Trial of offences as summons case. Successor to s.280C of the 1961 Act.
Section 497 is in Chapter XXII — Offences and Prosecutions, which runs from section 473 to section 498.
The section directs the Special Court, notwithstanding anything in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to try an offence under Chapter XXII that is punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years, or with fine, or with both, as a summons case, and applies the provisions of that Sanhita governing the trial of summons cases to such a trial. It is a single sentence fixing procedure only; it creates no offence and alters no punishment.
Offences at the lower end of the Chapter's punishment range would otherwise follow the warrant-case procedure the general criminal code prescribes for offences tried by a Special Court; the section overrides that so they are dealt with by the shorter summons-case procedure.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punishment ceiling for summons-case trial | Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years | An offence under Chapter XXII punishable with such imprisonment, or with fine, or with both | Section 497 |
Whether a Chapter XXII prosecution is tried as a summons case turns on the punishment the offence carries, not on the sentence eventually imposed or on the amount involved — so check the maximum in the charging section. Where the ceiling is met, the summons-case provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 govern the trial, and the section overrides anything in that Sanhita that would direct otherwise. Section 475, for instance, carries a maximum of two years and falls within this direction.
A prosecution is launched under Chapter XXII for an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to two years, or with fine, or with both. The Special Court must try it as a summons case, applying the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provisions for summons trials, notwithstanding anything in that Sanhita that would otherwise route it as a warrant case. What settles this is the punishment the offence is punishable with, not the sentence eventually passed — so an accused who expects nothing worse than a fine still gets warrant-case procedure if the offence carries imprisonment beyond two years. The section changes the mode of trial and nothing else: it creates no offence and reduces no punishment.
Before the Special Court, at the outset of a Chapter XXII prosecution, when the mode of trial is settled. It appears in no notice, order, form or return — a taxpayer meets it only if a prosecution is actually launched against him.
shall try an offence under this Chapter punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years or with fine, or with both, as a summons case
See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.