(1) The person must be accused of an ‘offence’. The word ‘offence’ in General Clauses Act means ‘any act or omission made punishable by law for the time being in force’.
(2) The ‘offence’ must be the same for which he was prosecuted and punished in the previous proceedings.
(3) The proceeding or the prosecution must have taken place before a ‘Court’ or ‘judicial tribunal’ and not before departmental and administrative authorities.
(4) The person must have been prosecuted and punished in the previous proceeding.
Article 20(2) will have no application where punishment is not for the same offence.’ Thus, if the offences are distinct the rule of double jeopardy will not apply. Likewise, Article 20(2) does not apply where the person is prosecuted and punished for the second time and subsequent proceeding is mere continuation of the previous proceeding, e.g., in the case of an appeal against acquittal. There is a bar to a second prosecution only when the accused has been both prosecuted and punished.