Corporate accused representation cannot be conditioned on bond and surety absent statutory authority.

Section 305 of the Code of Criminal Procedure governs how a corporation accused in a criminal complaint may be represented at inquiry or trial. It allows the corporation to appoint a representative and treats acts done in the representative's presence as meeting requirements otherwise applicable to the accused, while also addressing examination of that representative. The provision does not authorise requiring the authorised representative to furnish a bail bond or surety bond, nor does it support compelling attendance on every date through such conditions. A bond-and-surety condition imposed on the representative was therefore treated as unsupported by the statutory scheme.

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Issues: Whether, in a criminal complaint against a company, the trial court could require the company's authorised representative to furnish a bond and surety as a condition for representing the company on every date.

Analysis: Section 305 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 governs the procedure when a corporation is an accused and permits the corporation to appoint a representative for the inquiry or trial. The provision deems acts done in the presence of the representative to satisfy requirements that would otherwise apply to the accused and also deals with examination of the representative. It does not provide for imposition of bail bonds or surety bonds on the representative, nor does it authorise compulsion of the representative's presence on every date by such conditions. A condition requiring the representative to furnish a bond and surety was therefore found to be unsupported by the statutory scheme.

Conclusion: The condition requiring the company's authorised representative to furnish a bond and surety was held impermissible and was set aside, and the petition was allowed.

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