Section 240

The plea of previous acquittal or conviction may be pleaded either orally or in writing and may be in the following form or to the following effect:The accused says that by virtue of section 239 of the Criminal Procedure Code he is not liable to be tried.

Such plea may be pleaded together with any other plea, but the issue raised by the plea shall be tried and disposed of before the issues raised by the other pleas are tried.

On the trial of an issue on a plea of a previous acquittal or conviction the depositions transmitted to the court on the former trial, together with the Judge’s notes, if available, and the depositions transmitted to the court on the subsequent charge, shall be admissible in evidence to prove or disprove the identity of the charges.[239