Powers Of The High Courts U/S 428 CrPC And U/S 528 BNSS

Under S-482 CrPC the High Courts exercises its inherent powers for the following three (3) reasons:

I. give effect to any order under CrPC, 1973;

II. to prevent abuse of the process of any Court; and

III. to secure the ends of justice.

The powers under S-482 CrPC are necessarily exercised by the High Courts only, as they are not available for the District courts, the same being extra ordinary by its very nature.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court Of India sits in Appeal whenever the aggrieved party challenges the exercise of the Power by the High Courts across the country.

Jurisdiction of the S-482 CrPC, 1973, is the most revisited jurisdiction by the High Courts across the country. Yet, amazingly, there is no clarity about the issue.

The subject in hand is so opaque, vulnerable and prone interpretation that no ordinary lawyer, on either side, who is not so good at legal dexterities, can imagine of pursuing the bench around his or her viewpoint.

How-so-ever the judgments of the High Courts and Hon’ble Supreme Court of India be unclear and uncertain, the legislatures of the Country could not be expected to draft the provision in question in simpler words than what it already exists, as is manifestly evident from the very wordings of S-482 CrPC, which is as follows:

S-482 CrPC, 1973= S-528 BNSS, 2023: Saving Of Inherent Powers Of High Court- Nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice”.

Law surrounding Jurisdiction of the S-482 CrPC, 1973 has evolved a great deal since the establishment of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the year 1950 till date. The prime milestones on this issue can be said to have been laid in the following years, namely,

(i) in the year 1960, when RP Kapur 5JB judgment was passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court Of India.

(ii) in the year 1960, when Bhajan Lal judgment was passed by the Apex Court.

(iii) in the year 2021, when Neeharika Infrastructure Private Limited was passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court Of India.

The citations of the 03 Judgments are:

1. RP Kapur Vs. State Of Punjab- Criminal Appeal No. 217 of 1959- Judgment Dated- 25.03.1960- AIR 1960 SC 866- 1960 CrLJ SC 1239 [5JB]- Bench: (i) Shah, JC; (ii) Sinha, Bhuvneshwar P.(CJI); (iii) Imam, Syed Jaffer; (iv) Sarkar, A.K; (v) Gupta, K.C. Das, JJ.

2. Bhajan Lal- State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal- Supreme Court Of India Judgment Dated-21.11.1990- Bench: Pandian, S.R. (J) Reddy, K. Jayachandra (J)- 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335= 1992 Cri LJ 527= AIR 1992 SC 604= S-482 CrPC, 1973.

3. Neeharika Infrastructure Private Limited Vs State of Maharashtra- [3JB]- Judgment Dated- 13.04.2021- (2021) 19 SCC 401- S-482 CrPC, 1973- Quashing Of FIR.