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APPEALS
 Since courts, like any other man-made organisation, are likely to make mistakes, it follows
that the judgements they make are also subject to this risk of making errors. In order to
prevent a serious miscarriage of justice, there should be procedures in place to carefully
review the rulings of subordinate courts.
 To account for this, certain measures have been incorporated into the criminal procedure
for appealing a criminal court’s judgement or order. From Section 372 all the way up to
Section 394 of the Criminal Procedure Code are detailed requirements regarding appeals.
 However, the opportunity to appeal is not always available. For this reason, even in
circumstances where the right of appeal has been limited by CrPC, the lawmakers
integrated the concept of a review procedure termed “revision” into the legislative process
to entirely preclude any miscarriage of justice.
 The higher courts’ revision powers and the method for exercising those powers are laid
forth in Sections 397 to 405.
 The distinction between an appeal and a revision has been revisited numerous times in
court. According to the Supreme Court’s decision in Hari Shankar v. Rao Ghari
Chowdhury (1963), “the distinction between an appeal and a revision is a real one. Unless
the statute that grants the right of appeal specifies otherwise, a rehearing on appeal includes
a rehearing on both the law and the facts. In most cases, a higher court has the authority to
review a previous ruling to ensure that the original decision was made in accordance with
the law.”
 Although the term “appeal” is not defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, it can
be thought of as the review of a lower court’s ruling by a higher court.
 It must be stressed that no appeal can be made from any judgement or order of a criminal
court except in accordance with the legislative procedures given forth in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, or any other law that is in force.
 This means that even the initial appeal is time-limited by law; hence, no “vested right” to
appeal exists.
 The rationale behind this principle is the presumption that the trial was handled fairly by
the courts that heard the matter. In the event of an acquittal, a conviction for a lesser offence,
or insufficient compensation, however, the victim may file an appeal of the court’s
decision.
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 Supreme Court ruled in the case of Satya Pal Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh, these are
the cornerstones of the appeals process under CrPC:
- The right to appeal must be established by law.
- No automatic right to seek an appeal.
- No appeal only against conviction.
- Petty cases are final and cannot be appealed.
- A plea of guilt results in an automatic conviction; there is no right of appeal.

Who can appeal

 A person whose trial results in a guilty verdict may file an appeal of that verdict. When an
appeal is made, it does not imply that the case is being heard again. Issues raised by the
trial transcript are used to make a decision on the appeal.
 The court may hear new evidence from the appellant if the circumstances warrant it.
Affidavits from witnesses detailing their prepared statements for a new trial should be
submitted to the court to demonstrate this.
 It is the appellant’s burden to persuade the court that:
- claims that the jury’s judgement should be overturned because it was arbitrary or
not supported by the evidence,
- the judge made an error in interpreting the law, or
- there was a miscarriage of justice.
 If an appeal is filed, the court can do just about anything with it. The court may uphold the
conviction, overturn the conviction, substitute a judgement of acquittal, or order a new trial.
Even if the court rules in the appellant’s favour on a technicality of the law, it may
nonetheless decide to throw out the appeal if it determines that there was no serious
miscarriage of justice.
 The Director of Public Prosecutions may also file an appeal with the Court of Appeal,
requesting that the Court of Appeal quash an acquittal and retry the case, or file an appeal
against an interlocutory judgement.

Subsequent appeals

 A person who has been found guilty at trial may, with the approval of the Court of Appeal,
make a second or subsequent appeal. An individual seeking permission to appeal must
convince the court that new and persuasive evidence exists and should be taken into
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account. If the court believes there was a significant miscarriage of justice, it may hear a
new appeal, overturn the conviction, and either substitute a judgement of acquittal or order
a new trial.

APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT

 Any person convicted on a trial held by the High Court in its extraordinary original criminal
jurisdiction may appeal to SC (S.374 (1)).
 S.379 provides that where the High Court has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of
accused person and convicted him and sentenced him to death or life or for a term exceeding
10 years, he may appeal to the SC.
 Since it is the country’s highest court of appeals, the Supreme Court has the ultimate
discretion and plenary power in all appeals.
 The Supreme Court’s authority is principally determined by the provisions of the Indian
Constitution and the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction),
1970.
 If the high court overturns an acquittal ruling and sentences the defendant to life in prison,
10 years in jail, or death, the defendant has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
 Article 134(1) of the Indian Constitution establishes the same law under the appellate
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, recognizing the importance of a criminal appeal being
brought to that court.
 A.131 (1) of the Constitution provides that an appeal shall lie to the SC from any judgment,
decree or final order of the High Court if the High Court certifies that the case involves a
substantial question of law, as to the interpretation of the Constitution.
 A.134 (1) of the Constitution provides that an appeal shall lie to the SC from any judgment,
final order or sentence in a criminal proceedings of a High Court in the territory of India if
the High Court has withdrawn for trial before itself any case from any subordinate court
and has convicted the accused and sentenced him to death or if the High Court certifies
that the case is a fit one for appeal to the SC.
 In accordance with Article 134(2) of the Indian Constitution, the legislature also passed the
Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970, which gives
the Supreme Court the authority to hear appeals from the high court in certain cases.
 If the trial involved multiple defendants and the court issued an order of conviction for all
of them, each defendant has the same right to appeal the decision.
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 A.136 (1) of the Constitution provides that SC may in its discretion grants special leave to
appeal from any judgment, decree, sentence or order in any case or matter passed by any
court (S.L.P.).

SECTION 373 CRPC – APPEAL IN COURT OF SESSION

 In the event that a person has been ordered to offer security for the purpose of maintaining
the peace or for good behavior, an appeal against the order may be filed with the Court of
Session in accordance with Section 117.
 Where a person has been wronged by any order refusing to accept or reject a surety, the
person may seek redress under Section 121.
 Provided that nothing in this section, shall apply to persons the proceedings against whom
are laid before a Sessions Judge in accordance with the provisions of Sub-Section (2) or
Sub-Section (4) of section 122.

SECTION 374 CRPC – APPEAL FROM CONVICTIONS

 High Court orders of conviction issued while exercising original criminal jurisdiction have
the right to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
 Conviction orders issued by the Court of Session or Additional Court of Session are
appealable to the High Court.
 If the Court of Session or the Additional Court of Session imposes a sentence of more than
seven years in prison, the defendant may appeal the decision to the High Court.
 Appeals may be taken to the Court of Session from convictions handed down by the
Metropolitan Magistrate, Judicial Magistrate I, or Judicial Magistrate II.
 The court of session hears appeals from anyone who is dissatisfied with the results of a
criminal proceeding under Sections 325 and 360 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
 Exception to Section 374
- There is no right to appeal a conviction where the defendant has made a guilty plea
and been found guilty on the basis of that plea.
- A person who has been found guilty and sentenced by a high court to a period of
imprisonment of not more than six months or a fine of not more than one thousand
rupees, or to both such imprisonment and fine, shall not be permitted to file an
appeal against that sentence.
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- A person who has been found guilty and sentenced by a court of the session or a
metropolitan magistrate to a period of imprisonment of not more than three months
or a fine of not more than two hundred rupees, or to both such imprisonment and
fine, shall not be permitted to file an appeal against that sentence.
- A person who has been fined by a first-class magistrate of not more than one
hundred rupees shall not be permitted to file an appeal against that sentence.

SECTION 377 AND 378 CRPC – STATE APPEALS

 Under Section 377, to increase the severity of a punishment;

 Under Section 378, to overturn an acquittal of an accused person
 Section 377 CrPC – Appeal against sentence
- The state government may appeal the sentence to the Court of Session or High Court
on the grounds that it is inadequate pursuant to this clause, which may be done
through the office of the public prosecutor.
- If one disagrees with a magistrate’s sentencing decision, they have the right to file
an appeal with the court of session. If a sentence is handed down by a lower court,
an appeal could be filed with the high court.
- If the inquiry is conducted by the Delhi Special Police Establishment or another
central agency, the Central Government would issue the directive to the public
prosecutor.
- It is expected that the accused will be given a fair hearing before any appeal or
decision to increase their sentence is issued.
 Section 378 CrPC – Appeal in case of acquittal
- If a magistrate issues an acquittal in a case involving a cognizable and non-bailable
offence, the district magistrate may instruct the public prosecutor to appeal the
decision to the court of session. If an acquittal is issued by a court other than the
high court, the state can still ask for a review of the decision by filing an appeal
with that court.
- If the inquiry was conducted by the Delhi Special Police Establishment or another
government body, the Central Government will provide instructions on how to file
an appeal.
- It should be mentioned that the high court’s authorisation will be sought in advance
of launching an appeal there.
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- In the event that the high court grants special permission to make an appeal, the
complaint may do so in the event that the case launched on the basis of the complaint
is afterwards acquitted. A government employee who has been found not guilty may
file a new application within six months after the acquittal.
- An application may be filed within 60 days following the judgement of acquittal if
the complainant is not a government employee. No appeal from a judgement of
acquittal shall lie if such an appeal is dismissed.

SECTION 379 CRPC- APPEAL AGAINST CONVICTION BY HIGH COURT IN

CERTAIN CASES

 If a person’s acquittal by the high court is overturned and he is subsequently convicted and
sentenced to death, life in prison, or a term of imprisonment of 10 years or more, the
accused may appeal to the Supreme Court.

SECTION 380 CRPC- SPECIAL RIGHT OF APPEAL IN CERTAIN CASES

 If a co-defendant has received an appealable sentence, then the other defendant has the right
to appeal his own non-appealable punishment under this provision.

NON-APPEALABLE CASES

 Section 375 CrPC- Certain guilty pleas are non-appealable

- No appeal shall lie if the defendant enters a plea of guilty before the high court and
the court records such a plea and finds the defendant guilty.
- If the defendant enters a guilty plea in a lower court, an appeal of the sentence may
be made to the high court.
- There is a right to appeal a sentence based on:
 The totality of the punishment.
 The sentencing process was followed per the law.
 Section 376 CrPC- No appeal in petty cases
- Petty misdemeanours shall not be subject to appeal. The procedures for handling
petty matters vary by jurisdiction. The following are examples of minor offences:
 In the instance of the High Court, the possible penalties include either
imprisonment for up to 6 months or a fine of up to Rs 1000, or both.
 Up to three months in jail time, a Rs. 200 fine, or both if found guilty in
court of session.
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 Up to 3 months in jail, or a fine of Rs. 200, whichever is greater, if

prosecuted by a metropolitan magistrate.
 There is a Rs 100 fine if you are caught breaking a law in front of a judicial
magistrate.
 Up to Rs. 200 in the instance of a Magistrate authorised under Section 260
of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Procedure of filing appeal

 S.382 provides that every petition of appeal must be in writing and accompanied by a
certified copy of the judgment or the order appealed against.
 S.383 provides that if the appellant is in jail he may present his petition of appeal and the
copies of the judgment through the officer in-charge of jail, who shall thereupon forward
such petition to the proper appellate court.

Powers of Appellate Court

 The appellate court has power to dismiss the appeal summarily (S.384) or dismiss it after
hearing but not summarily (S.385).
 If upon examining the petition of the appeal and copies of the judgment, the appellate court
considers that there is no sufficient ground for interfering, it may dismiss the appeal
summarily (S.384 (1).
 But a right of hearing shall be given to the appellant or his pleader before an appeal is
dismissed summarily (S.384 (1) (a).
 No jail appeal shall be dismissed summarily until the period allowed for preferring such
appeal has expired (S.384 (1) (c).
 Before dismissing any appeal summarily the appellate court may call for the record of the
lower court (S.384 (2).
 If a jail appeal has been dismissed summarily and a different appeal u/s 382 has been
preferred by the appellant through his counsel against the same judgment then the summary
dismissal of jail appeal shall not be a bar to the hearing of regular appeal filed u/s 382
(S.384 (4).
 The appellate courts while dealing with appeals have following additional powers: -
- To grant bail or suspend the execution of sentence (S.389).
- To order for arrest of the accused in appeals from acquittal (S.390).
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- Take further evidence himself or order it to be taken by the lower court (S.391 (1).
- Dismiss the appeal (S.386).
- Reverse the order of acquittal or direct further inquiry in the case or order for retrial
or convict him (S.386 (a) (Best Bakery Case).
- Reverse the order of conviction and acquit or discharge the accused or order him to
be retried by the lower court (S.386 (b) (i).
- Alter the finding, maintaining the sentence (S.386 (b) (ii).
- Alter the nature or extent of the sentence (S.386 (b) (iii).
- In an appeal for enhancement of sentence, reverse the order and acquit or discharge
the accused or order or retrial or alter the finding or nature of the sentence (S.386
(c).
 Power of lower court = power of appellate court (in appeal)
- IInd proviso to section 386 :- the appellate court shall not inflict greater
punishment for the offence which in its opinion the accused has committed than
might have been inflicted for that offence by the court passing the order or sentence
under appeal.
 S.388 provides that every order of the High Court in an appeal is to be certified to the lower
court and the lower court shall amend its order in conformity with the High Court’s
judgment.
 S.392 provides that if the judges of the court of appeal are equally divided in their opinions,
the appeal shall be laid before another judge of that court who will give judgment; unless
he so desires, the appeal may be re-heard and decided by a larger bench.
 S.393 provides that the judgment and order passed by the appellate court shall be final
except in cases of appeal by the state on the ground of inadequacy u/s 377 or S.378 or the
judgment will be subject to reference and revisional jurisdiction of the court.

CASE LAWS

 Jogi v. the State Of Madhya Pradesh (2021)

- When hearing a substantive appeal under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1973, the High Court must conduct its own analysis of the evidence
and draw its own conclusions about the accused’s guilt or innocence based on its
own evaluation of the evidence in the record.
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 Dilip S. Dahanukar v. Kotak Mahindra Company Limited (2007)

- An offender who has been convicted has the unalienable right to exercise his or her
appeal under the provisions of Section 374 of the Code. In light of Article 21‘s
broad definition, the ability to appeal a conviction that has an impact on one’s
freedom is likewise a basic right. Therefore, the right of appeal cannot be limited in
any way or subjected to any conditions. The right to appeal is guaranteed by Article
21 of the Indian Constitution and Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
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REFERENCE & REVISION

 The legal definitions of reference and revision differ, but they all serve the same purpose
is mainly to ensure that justice is delivered. The reference is for approaching higher courts
of law on pending matters.
 Revision is the process of reviewing or changing any errors committed after the final
judgement has been delivered. The High Court's revisional jurisdiction is fairly broad.
 In general, revision is entirely up to the criminal court's discretion.
 Sections 395 to 405 of the Criminal Process Code of 1973 deal with the higher courts'
powers of reference and revision; these powers are discretionary and wide.

REFERENCE

 S.395 provides that reference always lies to High Court, when any court is satisfied that in
a case pending before it, involves a question as to validity of an Act, Ordinance or
Regulation, the determination of which is necessary for the disposal of the case and court
is of the opinion that such Act, Ordinance, regulation or provision is invalid or inoperative,
but has not been so declared by the High Court to which that is subordinate or by the SC,
the court shall state a case setting out its opinion and reasons, and refer the same for the
decision of the High Court.
 Court of Sessions or M.M. may also refer the matter to the High Court on question of law
arising in the hearing of any case where S.395 (1) does not apply. (Emperor v. Ratan Singh,
1948: not on question of fact. )
 Reference is defined as to transfer or send something is defined as a reference. It is a case
between two major courts in which the lower court requests the high court's ruling on an
act, ordinance, or rule.
 Grounds of Reference:
- The question of the legality of a provision of law must have arisen.
- The lower court believes that such Act, ordinance, regulation, or provision is invalid
or ineffective as determined by the High Court or Supreme Court.
- Reference shall be made only on a point of law, which must have arisen during the
course of the case's hearing.
 Purpose behind Reference: The major purpose of including the reference provisions is to
allow lower courts to acquire the High Court's view in non-appealable cases.
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 Disposal of case according to decision of High Court. (S. 396):

- The High Court on a matter so referred shall pass such order as it thinks fit and shall
send a copy of the same to the lower court by which the reference was made. The
lower court shall dispose of the case in conformity with the orders of the High
Court.
 In Emperor vs Maula Fuzla Karim, the court held that reference under section 395(2) of
the Criminal Procedure Code could be made only on a question of law, not on a question
of fact.

REVISION

 In order to avoid the possibility of any miscarriage of justice the right of revision is given
in cases where no right of appeal is available.
 S.397 to 405 deals with the powers of revisional courts.
 The power of revision conferred on higher courts is very wide and are purely discretionary
in nature.
 Therefore, no party has any right as such to be heard before any revisional court.
 Hence a revision can not be dismissed in default. It is the duty of the court to decide revision
even in the absence of parties.
 The word “revision” has not been defined in CrPC, however, as per Section 397 of CrPC,
the High Court or any Sessions Judge have been empowered to call for and examine the
records of any proceeding satisfy oneself:
- as to the correctness, legality, or propriety of any finding, sentence or order, whether
recorded or passed, and
- as to the regularity of any proceedings of an inferior court.
 Moreover, they have the powers to direct the execution of any sentence or an order to be
suspended. Not just this, but to even direct to release the accused on bail or on his own
bond if the accused is in confinement. They may even order an inquiry subject to certain
limitations. It is clearly evident that the appellant courts have been granted such powers so
as to obviate any failure of justice.
 There are certain statutory limitations that have been imposed on the High Court for
exercising its revisional powers as per Section 401 of CrPC, however the only statutory
requirement to exercise this power is that the records of the proceedings are presented
before it, after which it is solely the discretion of the Court:
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- An accused is to be given due opportunity to hear him and on order cannot be passed
unless this is followed.
- In instances where a person has forwarded a revisional application assuming that
an appeal did not lie in such a case, the High Court has to treat such application as
an appeal in the interests of justice.
- An application of revision cannot be proceeded with if it has been filed by a party
where the party could have appealed but did not go for it.
 The High Court, as well as the Sessions Court, may call for record of any proceeding of
any inferior criminal Court situated within its jurisdiction for the purpose of satisfying itself
as to the correctness, legality of propriety of any finding, sentence, etc.
 Thus, the Sessions Judge could examine the question in relation to the inadequacy of
sentence in view of the powers conferred on him by Section 397(1) of CrPC.
 The difference between the powers of the High Court and the Sessions Court being that the
Sessions Judge can only exercise revisional powers which he has called for by himself,
whereas the High Court has the power to take up a revisional matter by itself or when it is
brought to its knowledge.
 The powers of a Sessions Court are the same as that of the High Court while dealing with
revisional cases.
 The Madras High Court in the case S. Balasubramaninan vs The State Of Tamil Nadu
held that “a Sessions Judge can entertain an application in revision against sentence and
enhance the sentence in revision in certain cases.” It has also been previously held by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case Alamgir vs State of Bihar that “in respect of
enhancement of sentence in revision the enhancement can be made only if the Court is
satisfied the sentence imposed by the trial Court is unduly lenient, or that in passing the
order of sentence, the trial court has manifestly failed to consider the relevant facts”

Powers of the Revisional Court

 S.397 (2) provides that no revision shall be entertained in relation to any interlocutory order
passed in any appeal, inquiry, trial or other proceedings.
 S.397 (3) provides that no second revision shall be entertained by the HC or Sessions Judge
on the application of the same person.
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 S.398 empower the revisional court to order or further inquiry into any complaint, which
has been dismissed u/s 203 or S.204 (4) or into the case of any person accused of an offence
who has been discharged.
 S.399 provides that powers of Sessions Court while exercising revisional jurisdiction are
same and equivalent to the High Court.
 No further revision shall lie to the High Court from a matter decided by the Sessions Judge
in revision (S.399 (3).
 S.400 provides that the powers of the Additional Sessions Judge are equivalent to the
powers of a Sessions Judge. But he shall deal with only those revision petitions, which are
transferred to him by the Sessions Judge.
 The High Court’s powers of revision are very wide. There is no form of judicial injustice
which revisional court cannot rectify. S.397 is linked up with S.401 which indicates the
revisional powers of the revision court.
 S.401 (1) confers on the High Court, all powers of appellate court u/s 386, 389, 390 & 391.
It also empowers the High Court to direct tender of pardon to the accused as contemplated
by S.307.
 Similarly, the revisional court if equally divided in opinion (division bench) the procedure
of S.392 of referring the matter to a third judge or to a larger bench shall be followed.
 The Revisional Court cannot convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction (S.401(3)
while in appeal the appellate court has jurisdiction to convert a finding of acquittal into one
of conviction
 S.401 (5) provides that if a right of appeal is provided under this code but a revision petition
has been preferred under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto, the Revisional
Court may treat the application for revision as a petition of appeal in the interest of justice.
 The High Court can exercise its revisional powers suo motu, i.e., on its own initiative or on
the petition of an aggrieved party.
 Option of hearing:- S.403 provides that no party has any right to be heard either personally
or by pleader before any court exercising revisional powers but the court may, if it thinks
fit may hear any party either personally or through pleader.
 S.404 makes it clear that when the record of the trial held by a M.M. is called for by the
High Court or Sessions Court u/s 397, the M.M. may submit with the record of the case a
statement stating forthwith the grounds of his decision.
 P a g e | 14

 The Revisional Court shall consider such statement before over ruling or setting aside the
said decision or order of M.M.
 In cases of joint trial, if one of the several accused persons moves the High Court and any
other accused person moves the Sessions Court on the same matter in revision, there would
be a conflict of jurisdiction.
 In such cases, High Court shall decide having regard to the general convenience of the
parties that which of the two courts (High Court or Sessions Court) should finally dispose
off the matter.
 The High Court may decide to dispose off both the revisions itself or may direct that the
Sessions Judge shall decide both the revision applications.
 The High Court has a power to withdraw and transfer revision cases u/s 402. Where the
application for revision is transferred by the High Court to the Sessions Judge, his decision
shall be final.
 No party has any right to file further revision application before the High Court (S.402 (4).
 S.405 provides that every order of the High Court in revision shall be certified to the lower
court and the lower court shall thereupon pass orders in conformity with the orders of the
High Court/Sessions Court.
 To conclude, it is submitted that interlocutory orders are not revisable.

Test – whether an order is revisable or not

 If the order sought to be revised is reversed in favour of revisionist, it would have finally
terminated the entire proceedings of the lower court, than the order is revisable.
 E.g., revision against framing of charge is maintainable because if order of framing of the
charge is reversed, it will discharge the accused and will terminate the proceedings of the
lower court.
 If the trial court rejects an adjournment application, this order is an interlocutory order, and
its revision is not maintainable because even if this order is reversed, it will have no effect
on the merit of the case in lower court.

CASE LAWS

 The Allahabad High Court held in the case of Faruk @ Gaffar vs State Of U.P. that
“whenever the matter is brought to the notice of the Court and the Court is satisfied that in
 P a g e | 15

the facts and circumstances of the case, a case is made out for exercising the revisional
powers suo motu, it can always do so in the interest of justice.”
 The Honourable Supreme Court of India, in the context of this provision, held in the case
of Amit Kapoor vs Ramesh Chander & Anr that “the revisional jurisdiction can be invoked
where the decisions under challenge are grossly erroneous, there is no compliance with the
provisions of law, the finding recorded is based on no evidence, material evidence is
ignored or judicial discretion is exercised arbitrarily or perversely.”
 The same Court, further explaining this provision, held in the case of State Of Rajasthan
vs Fatehkaran Mehdu that “the object of this provision is to set right a patent defect or an
error of jurisdiction or law or the perversity which has crept in the proceeding.”
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INHERENT POWER OF COURT

 The 37th Chapter of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, titled ‘Miscellaneous’ deals
with Inherent powers of the Court.
 The inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are vested
only with the High Courts, this is because in criminal matters there are so many chances of
miscarriage of justice and to prevent this and give remedies to the aggrieved parties the
inherent powers are given to a more superior and experienced Court like the High Court.
Section 482 of the Code is one of those remedies that the High Court provides to the
aggrieved parties that come before it.
 There are various types of powers like statutory power and inherent power.
 The difference between the inherent powers and the statutory power is that the inherent
powers are not granted by any statute or legislation but exist by virtue of mere existence.
The inherent powers are the powers which are existing from the beginning, and they are
essential and permanent.
 If the High Court has the inherent powers as mentioned in Section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, it means that the High Court has its inherent powers due to its
mere existence and not that such inherent powers are granted by the parliament through
legislations or by any other means.
 Section 482 of the Code is a saving clause, and it does not give any new power to the High
Court, but just declares its inherent powers. Section 482 of the Code states that nothing in
the Code can affect or limit the inherent powers of the High Court to make any order as
may be necessary-
- To give effect to any order under the Code;
- To prevent abuse by any court while processing this Code;
- To secure the ends of justice
 Nothing instead of Notwithstanding
- Even though Section 482 disables any provisions of the Code to affect or limit the
inherent powers of the High Court, it does not mean that Section 482 is superior to
all other provisions of the Code. This is because the Section has the word ‘nothing’
instead of ‘notwithstanding’.
- The word ‘nothing’ in a provision states that the provision is a saving clause, and
the word ‘notwithstanding’ in a provision states that the provision is an overriding
 P a g e | 17

power. So when the word ‘notwithstanding’ is used in a Section, then that Section
would have an overriding impact on all the other provisions.
- The word ‘nothing’ when used in a Section of the Code, then that Section won’t
have an overriding impact, but instead, the Section will not face any conflict from
any other provision of the Code.
- The application of the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code takes place
only when all the explicit provisions of the Code do not provide express power to
give an order to give effect to any order under the Code, to prevent abuse by any
court while processing this Code, and to secure the ends of justice.
 The Code is a manifestation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, 1949 which states
“Right to life and personal liberty”. Thus, the life or personal liberty of a person can be
lawfully curtailed by following the procedure given in the code, however, the concept of
liberty and life is dynamic as it changes with time and thus the Code also needs to be
dynamic, this is done through the inherent powers.
 In cases when there are inadequate or no provisions available in the Code regarding any
order and such order is necessary to secure the ends of justice, the High Court can then
exercise its inherent powers.
 Normally the High Court would adjudicate criminal cases through the help of express
provisions available in the Code, but the High Court would exercise its inherent powers in
the following cases
- If there is no provision present in the Code for any specific order;
- When there is a provision, but it is ineffective;
- When the Court has passed an order through the express provisions of the Code, but
such order is ineffective or insufficient;
- When the parties concerned are misusing the provisions of the Code
 The inherent powers of the High Court are for securing the ends of justice and the exercising
of the inherent powers is the discretion of the High Court, and hence the High Court can
refuse to exercise its inherent powers if the parties approach the court with malicious intent.
 The whole purpose of the Code and Section 482 which declares the inherent powers of the
High Court is to ensure the meeting of the ends of justice. The Code ensures the balance of
rights between the State and the accused, and the same is ensured by Section 482.
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 Section 482 and all the other provisions of the Code are complementary to each other. The
provisions of the Code won’t affect the inherent powers, and the inherent powers will not
be applied if there are any explicit provisions available to pass any order.

POWERS OF THE HIGH COURT UNDER SECTION 482 OF THE CrPC

QUASHING OF PROCEEDINGS:

 Section 482 of the CrPC grants the High Court the leading authority to halt oppressive,
frivolous, or vexatious actions. The court may stop any procedures that were started with
malicious motives or meant to harass the accused using its inherent powers.
 The inherent power of quashing the criminal proceeding by the High Court is of wide
amplitude, but it has to be used capriciously where there is no explicit provision in the Code
to quash such criminal proceedings. The High Courts and the Supreme Court through
various decisions have given several circumstances where the High Court can exercise its
inherent powers to quash the Criminal Proceedings.
 In the case of K.S. Narayana v. Gopinathan (1981), the Madras High Court held that the
High Court must quash criminal proceedings to prevent the accused from the agony of an
unnecessary trial.
 Some pre-requisite to consider while quashing the criminal proceeding in a subordinate
Court were given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Vinod Kumar Seth
v. State of Punjab (1982). These conditions are summarized below:
- If there is no reasonable suspicion that could disclose that there is a commission of
a cognizable offence, even if the FIR is accepted to be true;
- If the evidence or materials collected in an investigation, subsequently after the
filing of the First Information Report, further could not disclose the commission of
a cognizable offence;
- When securing the ends of justice, the proceedings are quashed as the institution of
continuation of such investigation may amount to an abuse of power by the Police.
- Even if the allegations in the FIR and the evidence or materials collected in an
investigation give rise to a suspicion of a cognizable offence, the High Court can
still quash the criminal proceedings if the investigation took place with a mala fide
intention.
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QUASHING OF FIR

 The High Court does not have the jurisdiction to invoke its inherent powers to quash an
FIR if the guidelines are not followed as prescribed by the Supreme Court of India in the
case of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal.
 The Supreme Court of India also has supervisory jurisdiction similar to Section 482 of the
Code to quash an FIR where the matters relating to a special leave petition are defined
under Articles 136 and 142 of the Indian Constitution.
 It is not uncommon to see a false or an additional FIR filed against the accused. There may
be some instances where an innocent person is harassed by a false FIR due to a personal
grudge even though there has been an FIR lodged at the Police Station. The High can quash
FIRs if a subsequent FIR is lodged for the same offence.
 However, In the case of Tarak Dash Mukharjee & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors,
a bench of Supreme Court consisting of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Abhay S Oka has
held that registering multiple FIRs by the same informant for the same set of facts and
allegations, Articles 21 and 22 cannot be invoked. In the case of Tarak Dash Mukharjee
& Ors. vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors (2022), there were two different FIRs lodged
against the accused. The second FIR was filed 4 years after the first one, and facts and
allegations in the second FIR were the same and against the same accused. The Supreme
Court of India quashed and set aside the second FIR, the charge sheet based on the second
FIR, and the summoning order passed by the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.

SET ASIDE ORDERS

 The High Court may use its inherent authority to annul any orders made incorrectly or
against the rules of natural justice. In addition, the court has the authority to annul orders
acquired via deceit or deception.

STAY PROCEEDINGS

 In proper circumstances, the High Court may utilise its inherent authority to stay the case.
The court has the authority to halt proceedings to stop any party from taking undue
advantage of the legal system or harassing the other party.
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ISSUE DIRECTIONS

 The High Court has the authority to give whatever instructions are required to see whether
justice is done. The court can instruct lower courts to adhere to natural justice principles or
follow the correct process.

CORRECT ERRORS

 The High Court may use its inherent authority to make up for any mistakes or omissions
that could have been made throughout the proceedings. Any anomalies in the order or
procedural violations that could have caused unfairness to the parties may be rectified by
the court.

PREVENT THE ABUSE OF POWERS

 Preventing the misuse of the judicial process is something the High Court can do using its
inherent authority. The court can stop any party from taking undue advantage of the legal
system or harassing the other party.

DIRECTING INVESTIGATION

 Under appropriate circumstances, the High Court can use its inherent powers under Section
482 of the Code to direct further investigation or even reinvestigation. Section 173(8) of
the Code, which deals with a further investigation that should be forwarded to the
magistrate, does not affect the High Court’s inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code.
 In the case of Devendra Nath Singh v. State of Bihar & Ors (2022), the Supreme Court
held that though the basic power to direct further investigation is provided in Section
173(8), the High Court can direct further investigation or even reinvestigation if the High
Court feels that the investigation is not going in the proper direction or to secure the ends
of justice.

QUASHING COMPLAINTS

 The High Court has the inherent power to quash complaints under Section 482 of the Code.
The guidelines prescribed for the quashing of FIR in the case of the State of Haryana v.
Bhajan Lal also apply to the quashing of complaints. The High Court should follow the
guidelines mentioned in the case while quashing complaints.
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 In the case of G. Sagar Suri v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2000), the Supreme Court held that
when there is already a complaint against the accused, then there can be no second
complaint to prosecute the accused and the same can be quashed. There was a complaint
under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 against the accused, and a
complaint under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC was placed against the accused. The
Supreme Court held that the second complaint is liable to be quashed under Section 482 of
the Code.

POWER TO GRANT COST TO MEET LITIGATION

 The High Court can grant cost to meet litigation by exercising its inherent powers under
Section 482 of the Code in appropriate cases. The High Court’s inherent power to grant
cost to meet litigation is extraordinary, and this extraordinary power should be used in
extraordinary circumstances and in a judicious manner. This inherent power is used by the
High Court to secure the ends of justice.
 In the case of Mary Angel v. State of Tamil Nadu (1999), six persons were accused under
the Prohibition of Dowry Act as they demanded dowry from the complainant, the accused
approached the High Court to quash their criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the
Code, the High Court dismissed the petition and ordered to grant Rs.10000 from each of
the accused to the complainant as the accused have dragged the case for more than eight
years. The Supreme Court of India confirmed that the High Court has the power to grant
cost to meet litigation under Section 482 to secure the ends of justice.

TEST TO DETERMINE THE INTERFERENCE OF THE COURT UNDER SECTION

482 OF CrPC

 There are two typical standards used to determine whether the court can intervene under
Section 482 of the CrPC:
- The "Inherent Jurisdiction" test establishes whether the High Court is using its
inherent jurisdiction to stop judicial abuse or to further the goals of justice. This
standard is founded on the idea that the intrinsic authority granted to the High
Courts should only be used in extreme cases.
- "Tests of Quashing" or the "Triple Test": Three requirements must be met before
the High Court may use its authority to halt a procedure under Section 482.
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 The three requirements are:

- Even if taken at face value and accepted in their entirety, the accusations mentioned
in the FIR or complaint do not, prima facie, establish any offence or build out a case
against the accused.
- Even if all of the accusations in the FIR or complaint were true, they would not,
when combined with the assertions in the charge sheet, reveal a case that could be
tried against the defendant.
- The proceedings must be annulled in order to protect the interests of justice and stop
misuse of the legal system.
 In conclusion, depending on the specifics of the case, the court may intervene under Section
482 of the CrPC if it passes the inherent jurisdiction test or the triple test. It should be
underlined, however, that the High Court's discretionary power to intervene must be utilised
sparingly and with proper consideration for the principles of natural justice and the rights
of the accused.

LIMITAIONS OF THE USE OF SECTION 482 OF CrPC

 Restrict the enforcing of new jurisdiction: The inherent powers granted by Section 482
of the CrPC cannot be utilised to establish new jurisdiction where none now exists. The
powers cannot be utilised to go beyond the statutory processes outlined in the Code and
must be employed within the scope of the CrPC.
 Cannot be utilised to circumvent provisions of the CrPC: The inherent powers are not
permitted to go against the CrPC's explicit provisions. They are bound by the Code's rules
and cannot be utilised to ignore or go around them. Cannot be used to interfere with the
investigation of a case: The inherent powers are not permitted to obstruct an investigation.
They should only be used in extreme circumstances, sparingly, and to avoid misuse of the
legal system or to uphold the interests of justice.
 Cannot be used to thwart a valid investigation: The inherent powers cannot be utilised
to thwart a valid investigation. They are not to be used to adjudicate a private dispute or to
obstruct the usual course of justice.
 Not applicable when additional treatments are available: Where the parties have access
to other remedies, the inherent powers cannot be used. They should only be utilised when
there is no other option and when doing so is necessary to further the interests of justice.
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LANDMARK CASES RELATED TO THE SECTION 482 OF CrPC

 Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992: The court established the following rules for the High
Courts to abide by while using its inherent authority: Only when there is no chance that the
accused will be found guilty should the ability to quash proceedings be employed. The
authority shouldn't be used to thwart an appropriate investigation. The investigation of the
matter shouldn't be hampered by the usage of the power. In cases when the claims are
ridiculous or obviously unlikely, the power should not be exercised. A disagreement
between the parties should not be resolved by the authority.
 R.P. Kapur v. State of Punjab, 1960: The court emphasised that the inherent powers should
only be employed in extreme circumstances, such as where they are required to stop the
abuse of the court's procedure or to uphold the interests of justice. According to the
Supreme Court's ruling, the High Court may employ the inherent powers granted to it by
Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to stop judicial abuse or to further the interests
of justice. The court did rule, however, that the inherent powers cannot be utilized to
establish new jurisdiction in places where none now exists.
 Dhirendra Kumar versus state of Bihar 2005: it is only the High Court whose inherent
power has been recognised under section 482 of CRPC.
 P.O. Thomas versus Union of India, 1990: These powers cannot be invoked in non-
criminal proceeding such as under the Custom Act.
 BS Joshi versus state of Haryana 2003: The court held at the inherent powers of High
Court is not affected by section 397 sub section 2 of CRPC
 Minu Kumari versus state of Bihar 2006: The Supreme Court declared that the subordinate
Courts do not have inherent powers as is vested in the high court under Section 482.
