Discharge and Acquittal in Bangladesh Criminal Law

Discharge: After hearing the case file, submission documents and the statements of the accused and the plaintiff in this regard, if the court feels that there is not sufficient reason to prosecute the accused, the court will discharge the accused from the case and record the reasons. (Section 285c of the Criminal Procedure Code)

Acquittal: After taking the testimony of the plaintiff, taking the statement of the accused and hearing the statement of the plaintiff and the defendant about the matter, if the court thinks that there is no evidence that the accused has committed the crime, the court will acquit the accused and record it. (Section 285J of the Criminal Procedure Code)

Exemption cases are only investigated, judicial proceedings are not initiated. If new evidence is uncovered after the acquittal, the accused can be re-charged.

On the other hand, if an accused is acquitted in a trial, he cannot be charged with the same crime again.

The discharge order is not a judgment. But the acquittal order is a court’s judgment.