Section 8 CrPC: Metropolitan areas

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 8 CrPC at a Glance

Section 8 CrPC dealt with metropolitan areas. It has no corresponding section in the BNSS, which replaced the CrPC from 1 July 2024.

What Section 8 CrPC Says

8. Metropolitan areas
(1) The State Government may, by notification, declare that, as from such date as may be specified in the notification, any area in the State comprising a city or town whose population exceeds one million shall be a metropolitan area for the purposes of this Code.
(2) As from the commencement of this Code, each of the Presidency-towns of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and the city of Ahmedabad shall be deemed to be declared under sub-section (1) to be a metropolitan area.
(3) The State Government may, by notification, extend, reduce or alter the limits of a metropolitan area but the reduction or alteration shall not be so made as to reduce the population of such area to less than one million.
(4) Where, after an area has been declared, or deemed to have been declared to be, a metropolitan area, the population of such area falls below one million, such area shall, on and from such date as the State Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf, cease to be a metropolitan area; but notwithstanding such cesser, any inquiry, trial or appeal pending immediately before such cesser before any Court or Magistrate in such area shall continue to be dealt with under this Code, as if such cesser had not taken place.
(5) Where the State Government reduces or alters, under sub-section (3), the limits of any metropolitan area, such reduction or alteration shall not affect any inquiry, trial or appeal pending immediately before such reduction or alteration before any Court or Magistrate, and every such inquiry, trial or appeal shall continue to be dealt with under this Code as if such reduction or alteration had not taken place.
Explanation
In this section, the expression “population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published.

Source: Section 8, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 8 CrPC in Simple Words

Section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provided the legal framework for designating large urban centres as metropolitan areas for the purposes of the Code.

It empowered a State Government to notify any city or town in the State whose population exceeded one million at the last preceding published census as a metropolitan area, and it automatically treated Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Ahmedabad as metropolitan areas from the commencement of the Code.

Section 8 CrPC also allowed the State Government to alter metropolitan boundaries or end metropolitan status if the population fell below one million, while ensuring that pending inquiries, trials, and appeals before any Court or Magistrate continued unaffected.

When Section 8 CrPC Applies

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the State Government may issue a notification under Section 8(1) CrPC declaring any city or town in the State whose population exceeds one million at the last preceding published census to be a metropolitan area from a specified date.
From the start of the Code, the Presidency-towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras along with the city of Ahmedabad shall be deemed to have been declared metropolitan areas under Section 8(2) CrPC.
The State Government may by notification expand, shrink, or modify the boundaries of a metropolitan area under Section 8(3) CrPC, provided that any reduction or alteration shall not bring the population of that area below one million.
When the census population of a declared or deemed metropolitan area drops below one million, the area shall cease to be a metropolitan area under Section 8(4) CrPC from the date the State Government specifies by notification.
Every Court or Magistrate in a metropolitan area shall continue to handle any inquiry, trial, or appeal that was pending immediately before the area lost its metropolitan status or had its boundaries reduced or altered under Section 8(4) CrPC or Section 8(5) CrPC as if no change had occurred.

Example of Section 8 CrPC

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the State Government issued a notification under Section 8(1) CrPC declaring a city whose population exceeded one million at the last preceding published census to be a metropolitan area. Ramesh had a trial pending before Magistrate Kavita in that area. Later, the State Government issued a notification under Section 8(3) CrPC reducing the limits of the metropolitan area while keeping its population at not less than one million. Because the trial of Ramesh was pending before Magistrate Kavita immediately before the reduction, Section 8(5) CrPC required the trial to continue to be dealt with under the Code as if the reduction had not taken place.

When Section 8 CrPC Does Not Apply

A State Government notification under Section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 cannot declare an area to be a metropolitan area under Section 8(1) CrPC if the area does not comprise a city or town whose population exceeds one million.
A reduction or alteration of the limits of a metropolitan area under Section 8(3) CrPC shall not be made if it would reduce the population of that area to less than one million.
Population figures cannot be used to determine metropolitan status under Section 8 CrPC unless they were ascertained at the last preceding census for which the relevant figures have been published.

No Corresponding BNSS Section

No BNSS section

Section 8 CrPC has no counterpart in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

FAQs on Section 8 CrPC

How did an area become a metropolitan area under Section 8 CrPC?▼

An area became a metropolitan area under Section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by notification or by statutory deeming. Under Section 8(1) CrPC, the State Government could notify any area in the State comprising a city or town whose population exceeded one million to be a metropolitan area. Under Section 8(2) CrPC, the Presidency-towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras and the city of Ahmedabad were deemed to be declared metropolitan areas from the commencement of the Code.

How was population measured for a metropolitan area under Section 8 CrPC?▼

The Explanation to Section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 defined population as the population ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures had been published. When assessing whether a city or town exceeded one million under Section 8(1) CrPC or whether a metropolitan area remained at not less than one million under Section 8(3) CrPC and Section 8(4) CrPC, only those published census figures applied.

What happened to pending cases if a metropolitan area lost its status or had its limits altered under Section 8 CrPC?▼

Pending cases continued unaffected under Section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Under Section 8(4) CrPC, if an area ceased to be a metropolitan area because its population fell below one million, every inquiry, trial, or appeal pending immediately before that cesser before any Court or Magistrate continued under the Code as if the cesser had not occurred. Section 8(5) CrPC applied the same rule when metropolitan limits were reduced or altered.

Which section of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 8 CrPC?▼

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024, and the Sanhita has no section in place of Section 8 CrPC. The official comparison tables between the Code and the Sanhita list no corresponding section in the Sanhita for Section 8 CrPC, which formerly dealt with the declaration, alteration, and cessation of metropolitan areas having a population exceeding one million.

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Sources: Bare Act Text, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 · Last updated: 22 Oct 2026 ·