(1) A Special Judge may take cognizance of offences without the accused being committed to him for trial and, in trying the accused persons, shall follow the procedure prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), for the trial of warrant cases by the Magistrates.
(2) A Special Judge may, with a view to obtaining the evidence of any person supposed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in, or privy to, an offence, tender a pardon to such person on condition of his making a full and true disclosure of the whole circumstances within his knowledge relating to the offence and to every other person concerned.
(3) Save as provided in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall, so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act, have effect in relation to the proceedings before a Special Judge; and for the purposes of the said provisions, the Court of the Special Judge shall be deemed to be a Court of Session.
(4) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in sub-section (3), the provisions of sections 326 and 475 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall, so far as may be, apply to the proceedings before a Special Judge.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 5
Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 establishes the sui generis procedural architecture and plenary trial powers of the Special Judge appointed under Section 3. Overriding the ordinary committal requirements of criminal procedure, it empowers the Special Judge to take direct cognizance of offenses without committal, conduct trials under the warrant procedure instituted on police reports, tender pardons to approvers under Sections 306 and 307 CrPC (Sections 343 and 344 BNSS), and exercise the civil attachment powers of a District Judge under the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944.
When representing an accused where cognizance was taken on a private complaint, verify strict compliance with pre-cognizance inquiry requirements under Section 200/202 CrPC (Section 223/225 BNSS) and the mandatory prior sanction requirement under Section 19 PC Act and Section 17A (as inserted by the 2018 Amendment). In approver scenarios under Section 5(2), defense counsel must scrutinize the accomplice's statement to confirm whether full disclosure was made; if the approver withheld material facts or shielded co-conspirators, immediately move under Section 308 CrPC (Section 345 BNSS) to revoke pardon and prosecute the approver.