Under the following circumstances criminal cases may be disposed of without a trial.
(4) Conditional pardon to an accomplice as per section 306 and 307, CrPC
(5) Absence or non-appearance of complainant as per section 249 CrPC
(7) Withdrawal from prosecution as per section 321 CrPC
(8) Withdrawal by complainant as per section 257, CrPC
(9) Autrefois acquit and autrefois convict as per Section 300 CrPC
(10) Power of court to stop proceedings in certain cases as per section 258 CrPC
(11) Abatement of proceedings on the death of the accused
The offences which can be compounded without the permission of the Court is specified under section 320(1) of CrPC. Most of these offences are of a minor nature as listed below:
| IPC Section | Offence |
| 298 | Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person. |
| 323 | Voluntarily causing hurt. |
| 334 | Voluntarily causing hurt on provocation. |
| 335 | Voluntarily causing grievous hurt on grave and sudden provocation. |
| 341, 342 | Wrongfully restraining or confining any person. |
| 343 | Wrongfully confining a person for three days or more |
| 344 | Wrongfully confining a person for ten days or more. |
| 346 | Wrongfully confining a person in secret. |
| 352, 355, 358 | Assault or use of criminal force. |
| 379 | Theft. |
| 403 | Dishonest misappropriation of property. |
| 407 | Criminal breach of trust by a carrier, wharfinger, etc. |
| 411 | Dishonestly receiving stolen property knowing it to be stolen. |
| 414 | Assisting in the concealment or disposal of stolen property, knowing it to be stolen. |
| 417 | Cheating. |
| 419 | Cheating by personation. |
| 421 | Fraudulent removal or concealment of property, etc., to prevent distribution among creditors. |
| 422 | Fraudulently preventing from being made available for his creditors a debt or demand due to the offender. |
| 423 | Fraudulent execution of deed of transfer containing false statement of consideration. |
| 424 | Fraudulent removal or concealment of property. |
| 426, 427 | Mischief, when the only loss or damage caused is loss or damage to a private person. |
| 428 | Mischief by killing or maiming animal. |
| 429 | Mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc. |
| 430 | Mischief by injury to works of irrigation by wrongfully diverting water when the only loss or damage caused is loss or damage to private person. |
| 447 | Criminal trespass. |
| 448 | House-trespass. |
| 451 | House-trespass to commit an offence (other than theft) punishable with imprisonment. |
| 482 | Using a false trade or property mark. |
| 483 | Counterfeiting a trade or property mark used by another. |
| 486 | Knowingly selling, or exposing or possessing for sale or for manufacturing purpose, goods marked with a counterfeit property mark. |
| 491 | Criminal breach of contract of service. |
| 497 | Adultery. |
| 498 | Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman. |
| 500 | Defamation, except such cases as are specified against section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) in column 1 of the Table under sub-section (2). |
| 501 | Printing or engraving matter, |
| 502 | Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter, knowing it to contain such matter. |
| 504 | Insult intended to provoke a breach of the peace. |
| 506 | Criminal intimidation. |
| 508 | Inducing person to believe himself an object of divine displeasure. |
If the criminal proceedings is barred by limitation, the accused can raise the preliminary objection that the criminal proceedings initiated is barred by limitation under Section 468, CrPC
If the Magistrate considers that the charge against the accused is without grounds, the Magistrate can after recording reasons, discharge the accused under Section 239 of Criminal Procedure Code.
Section 239 of CrPC, when accused shall be discharged
If, upon considering the police report and the documents sent with it under section 173 and making such examination, if any, of the accused as the Magistrate thinks necessary and after giving the prosecution and the accused an opportunity of being heard, the Magistrate considers the charge against the accused to be groundless, he shall discharge the accused, and record his reasons for so doing.
The Code of Criminal Procedure contemplates discharge of the accused by the Court of Session under Section 227 in case triable by it, cases instituted upon a police report are covered by Section 239 and cases instituted otherwise than on police report are dealt with in Section 245. Under Section 227 the trial Judge is required to discharge the accused if there is no sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. The obligation to discharge the accused under Section 239 arises when "the Magistrate considers the charge against the accused to be groundless." The power to discharge is exercisable under Section 245(1) when "the Magistrate considers, for reasons to be recorded, that no case against the accused has been made out which, if unrebutted, would warrant his conviction. The stage for discharge under Section 245, on the other hand, is reached only after the evidence referred to in Section 244 has been taken.
The criminal proceedings against an accused person come to an end if he is given pardon in accordance with the provisions of Sections 306 and 307.
In a warrant case which is instituted upon a complaint, and on any day fixed for hearing of the case, if the complainant is absent and the offence may be lawfully compounded or is not a cognizable offence, the magistrate may in his discretion at any time before the charge has been framed, can discharge the accused.
The Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge of a case may, with the consent of the Court, at any time before the judgment is pronounced, withdraw from the prosecution of any person either generally or in respect of any one or more of the offences for which the accused is tried. Such offence must be in the nature as provided under Section.321 of CrPC.
The Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge of a case may, with the consent of the Court at any time before the judgment is pronounced, withdraw from the prosecution of any person either generally or in respect of any one or more of the offences for which he is tried; and upon such withdrawal,:-
(a) If it is made before a charge has been framed, the accused shall be discharged in respect of such offence or offences;
(b) if it is made after a charge has been framed, or when under this CrPC no charge is required he shall be acquitted in respect of such offence or offences:
In a trial of a summons case initiated on a private complaint, if the complainant at any time before a final order is passed satisfies the magistrate that there are sufficient grounds for permitting him to withdraw his complaint against the accused, then the magistrate may permit him to withdraw the same, and shall thereupon acquit the accused. (Sec.257 CrPC).
In a trial of a warrant case initiated on a private complaint, the complainant has no power to withdraw the complaint. The only provision which may have some relevance in this connection is Section 224 of the code.
If the accused raises a plea that he was earlier tried for the same offence and was convicted or acquitted of the same and that according to the principle of autrefois convict or autrefois acquit he cannot be tried again. If the principles laid down under Section 300 of Cr.P.C are satisfied then the proceedings are barred. The above said principle has been recognized as a fundamental right in the Constitution.
In any summons case instituted otherwise than upon complaint, a magistrate of the first class, or any other judicial magistrate with the previous sanction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, may stop the proceedings at any stage without pronouncing any judgment. While stopping the proceedings the magistrate shall record reasons for doing so.
The ultimate object of the criminal proceedings is to punish the accused on
his conviction of any offence. Therefore, the criminal
proceedings abate on the death of the accused, as their continuance thereafter
will be in fructuous and meaningless. This position being self evident the Code
has not made any specific provision in this regard.