On 26/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 26/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 26/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 24/08/2012.
244.
—(1) A person who has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and has been convicted or acquitted of that offence shall not be liable, while the conviction or acquittal remains in force, to be tried again for the same offence nor on the same facts for any other offence for which a different charge might have been made under section 138 or for which he might have been convicted under section 139 or 140.
(2) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence may afterwards be tried for any distinct offence for which a separate charge might have been made against him in the former trial under section 134.
(3) A person convicted of any offence constituted by any act causing consequences that together with that act amount to a different offence from that of which he was convicted may afterwards be tried for that different offence if the consequences had not happened or were not known to the court to have happened at the time when he was convicted.
(4) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence constituted by certain acts may, notwithstanding the acquittal or conviction, be charged later with and tried for any other offence constituted by the same acts which he may have committed if the court that first tried him was not competent to try the offence with which he is subsequently charged.
Explanation— — The dismissal of a complaint or the discharge of the accused is not an acquittal for the purposes of this section.
Illustrations
(a)
A is tried on a charge of theft as a servant and acquitted. While the acquittal remains in force, he cannot afterwards be charged on the same facts with theft as a servant or with theft simply or with criminal breach of trust.
(b)
A is tried on a charge of murder and acquitted. There is no charge of robbery; but it appears from the facts that A committed robbery at the time when the murder was committed. He may afterwards be charged with and tried for robbery.
(c)
A is tried for causing grievous hurt and convicted. Afterwards, the person injured dies of his injuries. A may be tried again for culpable homicide.
(d)
A is tried and convicted of the culpable homicide of B. A may not afterwards be tried on the same facts for the murder of B.
(e)
A is charged with and convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to B. A may not afterwards be tried for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to B on the same facts unless the case comes within subsection (3).
245.
—(1) The plea of previous acquittal or conviction may be made orally or in writing and may be in the following form or to the following effect:
“The accused person says that by virtue of Article 11(2) of the Constitution or section 244 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) he is not liable to be tried.”.
(2) This plea may be made with any other plea, but the issue raised by the plea must be tried and disposed of before the issues raised by the other pleas are tried.
(3) When an issue is tried on a plea of a previous acquittal or conviction, the record of proceedings of the former trial is admissible as evidence to prove or disprove whether he is being tried again for the same offence or on the same facts for any other offence.