An accused who is a PROCLAIMED OFFENDER absconds, and the court decides to proceed against him in his absence. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, TRIAL IN ABSENTIA may be conducted against a proclaimed offender who has not been attached/apprehended, after the framing of the charge, in the manner provided:

Section 356 of the BNSS, 2023 permits the trial IN ABSENTIA of a proclaimed offender: where an accused declared a proclaimed offender absconds and is not apprehended, the court may, after the framing of charges, proceed with the trial in his absence, following the prescribed procedure (including recording of evidence, and the right of the accused to be represented and to be retried/enter a plea later, as the provision details). This matches the code's aim to deter flight and expedite trials. The 'proclaimed offender + absentia' mechanism is a new, distinctive feature of the BNSS.