Under Indian criminal law, a criminal court or High Court cannot recall or review its own final reasoned judgment or order, except to correct clerical or arithmetical errors. [1, 2]
- The Statutory Bar: This rule is strictly governed by Section 403 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which directly corresponds to Section 362 of the former Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. Once a judgment or final order is signed and pronounced, it achieves finality. [3, 4, 5]
- Inherent Powers Limitation: High Courts cannot use their inherent powers under Section 528 BNSS (formerly Section 482 CrPC) as a backdoor to re-open, review, or alter a substantive or reasoned decision under the guise of an accidental or clerical mistake. [1, 5]
Exceptions Where Recalling an Order is Permitted
While substantive reviews are barred, courts allow a procedural recall in narrow, specific scenarios where the order is considered a legal nullity rather than a re-evaluation of merits: [1, 2, 6]
- Clerical or Arithmetical Errors: Explicitly allowed under Section 403 BNSS / Section 362 CrPC for typos or math errors. [6]
- Violation of Natural Justice: If an order or judgment was passed ex-parte without giving a mandatory opportunity of being heard to the affected party, or without jurisdiction. For instance, an ex-parte maintenance order can be challenged by filing a recall application (such as under Section 145(2) BNSS / Section 126(2) CrPC). [2, 7]
- Procedural/Interim Orders: Non-substantive or interim orders—like issuing summoning orders, closure orders, or Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) due to unavoidable absence—can be recalled by the magistrate or court to serve the ends of justice or under specific provisions like witness recall under Section 348 BNSS (formerly Section 311 CrPC). [8, 9, 10]
- Orders Passed Without Jurisdiction: Inherent powers can be invoked to recall an order if the court lacked the jurisdiction to pass it in the first place. [2, 11]
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