"Section 300 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) contains adequate provisions to protect a person from being prosecuted for the same offence again". Comment with reference to a suitable case law.

Section 300 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) contains adequate provisions to protect a person from being prosecuted for the same offence again. Section 300 of CrPC cannot be definitely interpreted to mean that if a person steals a property and gets convicted of the offence of theft, he should not be prosecuted for the same offence if it arises out of another theft. Section 300 of CrPC is unique in the sense that it requires either a conviction or acquittal as a pre-requisite for the protection to be available. In simple words, the marginal note that "Person once convicted or acquitted not to be tried for same offence" conveys everything about the intention of the legislature. Analysing the law laid down in section 300 of CrPC, the Kerala High Court in Bharat Plywood and Timber Products Private Limited and Anor. v. Registrar of Companies and Anor. It was held as follows: "Section 300 of the CrPC provides that so long as an order of acquittal or conviction handed down by a Court of competent jurisdiction stands in respect of a person charged with committing an offence, that person cannot again be tried on the same facts for the offence for which he was earlier tried or for any other offence arising there from. Section 300 of CrPC becomes applicable when a Court of competent jurisdiction had already tried the accused and that he is either acquitted or convicted. It is also necessary to note that for the first part of sub-section (1) of Section 300 to apply, the prior prosecution and subsequent prosecution should be for the same offence". The High Court held that the principle embodied in Section 300 of CrPC is as follows: "A person cannot be tried again for the offence for which he had already been tried or on the same facts for any other offence for which a different charge from the one made against him might have been made under Section 221 (1) of CrPC or for which he might have been convicted under sub-section (2) of that section".