CrPC Section 471: Exclusion of Court Closure Dates – Explained

1. State the code

Section 471 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) deals with the exclusion of certain days from the computation of time for the purposes of the CrPC.

2. Explain it

Section 471 states that when calculating time periods under the CrPC, certain days are excluded:

• Days on which the court is closed: This includes public holidays, Sundays, and other days declared as non-working days by the court.
• Days on which the court is actually closed: Even if a day is not officially a holiday, if the court is closed for any reason (e.g., due to unforeseen circumstances), those days are also excluded.

3. Illustrate it

Suppose a court order requires a person to appear in court within 10 days. If the order is issued on a Friday, and the next Monday is a public holiday, then the person has 7 days to appear in court (10 days – 3 days excluded: Friday, Saturday, and Monday).

4. Common Question and Answers

Q1: What happens if the last day of the time period falls on a court closure day?

A: The last day is excluded, and the next working day is considered the last day of the time period.

Q2: How are days excluded if a time period is calculated in months?

A: If the time period is calculated in months, only the days that fall within the month are excluded, not the entire month.