Section 337 in The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989 (1933 A. D.)
337. Tender of pardon to accomplice.
(1)In the case of any offence triable exclusively by the High Court or Court of Session, or any offence punishable with imprisonment [which may extend to seven years] [Substituted by Act XLII of 1956 for certain words.] or any offence under any of the following sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, namely, sections [161, 165] [Inserted by Act XLII of 1966.], [165-A] [Words and figures '165-A' inserted by Act III of 1958.], 216-A, 369, 401, 435 and 477-A, [a Chief Judicial Magistrate, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate or any Judicial Magistrate of the first class may, at any stage of the investigation or enquiry into, or the trial of the offence, with a view to obtaining the evidence of any person supposed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in or privy to the offence tender a pardon to such person on condition of his making a full and true disclosure of the whole of the circumstances within his knowledge relative to the offence and to every other person concerned, whether as principal or abettor, in the commission thereof :] [Substituted by Act XL of 1966.]Provided that, where the offence is under inquiry or trial, no Magistrate of the first class other than the [Chief Judicial Magistrate] [Substituted by Act XL of 1966.] shall exercise the power hereby conferred unless he is the Magistrate making the inquiry or holding the trial, and, where the offence is under investigation, no such Magistrate shall exercise the said power unless he is a Magistrate having jurisdiction in a place where the offence might be inquired into or tried and the sanction of the [Chief Judicial Magistrate] [Substituted by Act XL of 1966.] has been obtained to the exercise thereof.(1-a) Every Magistrate who tenders a pardon under sub-section (1) shall record his reasons for so doing, and shall, on application made by the accused, furnish him with a copy of such record :Provided that the accused shall pay for the same unless the Magistrate for some special reason thinks fit to furnish it free of cost.(2)Every person accepting a tender under this section shall be examined as a witness in the Court of the Magistrate taking cognizance of the offence and in the subsequent trial, if any.(2-a) In every case where a person has accepted a tender of pardon and has been examined under sub-section (2), the Magistrate before whom the proceedings are pending shall, if he is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is guilty of an offence, commit him for trial to the Court of Session or High Court, as the case may be.[(2-b) In every case where the offence is punishable under section 161 or section 165 or section 165-A of the Ranbir Penal Code, 1989 (XII of 1989) or sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 (XIII of 2006), and where a person has accepted a tender of pardon and has been examined under sub-section (2) then notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2-a) the Magistrate shall, without making any further inquiry, send the case for trial to the Court of the Special Judge appointed under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958.] [Sub-section (2-b) inserted by Act III of 1958.](3)Such person, unless he is already on bail, shall be detained in custody until the termination of the trial.
