Sections 401 and 402 CrPC: High Court Powers of Revision and Transfer of Revision Cases
Sections 401 and 402 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deal with important aspects of the High Court's revisional jurisdiction. Section 401 specifies the powers that the High Court may exercise in revision, while Section 402 regulates situations in which revision applications arising from the same trial are pending before both the High Court and the Sessions Judge.
- Section 401 defines the High Court's powers when exercising criminal revision jurisdiction.
- An order prejudicial to an accused or another person cannot be made under Section 401 without an opportunity of hearing.
- The High Court cannot use Section 401 to convert an acquittal into a conviction.
- Ordinarily, revision at the instance of a party is barred where that party had a right of appeal but did not appeal.
- Section 402 enables the High Court to determine the proper forum where connected revision applications from the same trial are pending before different revisional courts.
Section 401 CrPC - High Court's Powers of Revision
Section 401 confers revisional powers on the High Court in a proceeding whose record has been called for by the High Court or which otherwise comes to its knowledge. The jurisdiction is discretionary and is intended to permit supervisory correction within the limits prescribed by the Code.
Section 401(1): Powers available in revision
The High Court may, in its discretion, exercise powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by Sections 386, 389, 390 and 391, or on a Court of Session by Section 307. Where the Judges composing the Court of Revision are equally divided, the matter is dealt with in the manner provided by Section 392.
Section 401(2): Opportunity of hearing
No order under Section 401 may be made to the prejudice of the accused or another person unless that person has had an opportunity of being heard, personally or through a pleader, in his or her defence. This is an express procedural safeguard against an adverse revisional order without hearing the affected person.
Section 401(3): Acquittal cannot be converted into conviction
The revisional power does not authorise the High Court to convert a finding of acquittal directly into a conviction. This statutory restriction marks an important limit on the revisional jurisdiction.
Section 401(4): Revision where appeal was available
Where an appeal lies under the Code and the party entitled to appeal does not file it, a revision at the instance of that party cannot ordinarily be entertained. The provision prevents revision from being used as a substitute for an available appellate remedy.
Section 401(5): Revision may be treated as appeal
If a person files a revision under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies, the High Court may treat the revision as a petition of appeal when it is satisfied both that the application was made under that erroneous belief and that doing so is necessary in the interests of justice.
Section 402 CrPC - Power of High Court to Withdraw or Transfer Revision Cases
Section 402 addresses connected revision applications arising from the same trial when one or more convicted persons approach the High Court while another convicted person approaches the Sessions Judge.
Section 402(1): Choosing the court that will finally decide the revisions
The High Court decides which court should finally dispose of the revision applications, having regard to the general convenience of the parties and the importance of the questions involved. If the High Court decides to hear all the revisions itself, it directs transfer of the revision pending before the Sessions Judge to the High Court. If it decides that its own disposal is unnecessary, it directs transfer of the revision filed before it to the Sessions Judge.
Section 402(2): Revision transferred to High Court
A revision transferred to the High Court is dealt with as though the application had been duly made before the High Court itself.
Section 402(3): Revision transferred to Sessions Judge
A revision transferred to the Sessions Judge is dealt with as though it had been duly made before that Judge.
Section 402(4): No further revision after transfer to Sessions Judge
Where the High Court transfers a revision application to the Sessions Judge and the Sessions Judge disposes of it, no further revision lies to the High Court or any other court at the instance of the person or persons whose revision was so disposed of.
Practical Effect of Sections 401 and 402 CrPC
Read together, these provisions define both the scope and important limits of the High Court's revisional authority. Section 401 provides corrective powers but protects the right to be heard, preserves the distinction between appeal and revision, and prohibits direct conversion of acquittal into conviction. Section 402 prevents fragmented consideration of revisions arising from the same trial by enabling the High Court to select a single revisional forum.
CrPC and the Later BNSS Framework
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the CrPC as the principal criminal procedure legislation for the new statutory framework. For matters governed by the earlier CrPC, the applicable commencement, repeal and savings provisions should be examined before relying on a CrPC provision.
This page is an explanatory legal-information article. The precise remedy and applicable procedural provision depend on the facts, date and stage of the particular proceeding.