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1958 Supreme(All) 61

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
A. P. Srivastava, J.
MAHENDRA PAL SINGH - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH - Respondents
Review Appln. 704 Of 1958
Decided On : 03/27/1958

Advocates Appeared:
Virendra Swarup Jauhary

Headnote:

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE - SECTION 369 - REVIEW OF JUDGMENT - NOT PERMISSIBLE - HIGH COURT HAS NO POWER TO REVIEW ITS PREVIOUS DECISION IN CRIMINAL CASE - EXCEPTION - WHERE MANDATORY PROVISION OF LAW HAS BEEN CONTRAVENED RESULTING IN ABUSE OF THE PROCESS OF THE COURT.

Fact of the Case:

The applicants were convicted by a Magistrate First Class, Bareilly under section 325, I.P.C. and each of them was sentenced to undergo one years Rule 1, and to pay a fine of Rs. 50/-. An appeal was preferred to the Sessions judge but failed. An application in revision was then filed on their behalf in this Court and was rejected by the order now sought to be reviewed.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the application for review is not maintainable and must fail on that account. In the circumstances it is not necessary to consider the various points which the learned counsel tried to urge.

Issues: Whether a High Court has the power to review its previous decision in a criminal case.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that a High Court has no power to review its previous decision in a criminal case. An exception was, however, made in respect of those cases where a mandatory provision of law had been contravened resulting in abuse of the process of the Court.

Final Decision: The application for review is, therefore, rejected.

A. P. SRIVASTAVA, J.

( 1 ) THIS is an application for the review of an order made by this Court on the 27th of February, 1958. The provision under which the application has been made has been mentioned at the top of the application as Section 561a, Cr. P. C.

( 2 ) IT appears that the applicants were convicted by a Magistrate First Class, Bareilly under section 325,. P. C. and each of them was sentenced to undergo one years Rule 1, and to pay a fine of Rs. 50/ -. An appeal was preferred to the Sessions judge but failed. An application in revision was then filed on their behalf in this Court and was rejected by the order now sought to be reviewed. It was held that there was a clear finding of fact recorded by the lower appellate court which concluded the case against the applicants and that the sentence also did not appear to be excessive. At the time when the revision application was considered the counsel for the applicants was heard at some length and the order passed shows that the application was dismissed as it was found to be without merits. The applicants have now applied for a review of that order, on the ground that at the time when the application for revision was argued, the learned counsel who argued it inadvertently omitted to urge certain points of law which arose in the case and which deserved the consideration of the court.

( 3 ) THE first question that arises is whether such a review is permissible.

( 4 ) THE ordinary rule which has been enacted in Section 369 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is that no court can alter or review its judgment after having signed it except to correct a clerical error. The rule applies to High Courts also, but in their case it is provided that review will be permissible if it is authorized by the Letters Patent or the other instrument constituting the High court. It is not suggested on behalf of the applicants that the Letters Patent or the other instrument constituting the Allahabad High Court contain anything authorising this Court to review its judgments. It may, however, be urged that the order sought to be reviewed cannot be considered to be a judgment as it does not comply with the requirements of Section 367 of the Code. The answer to that contention will, however, be found in the Full Bench decision of Nand Lal Chuni lal Bodiwala v. Emperor, AIR 1946 Bom 276. There it was held in clear terms:

"it must follow, therefore, that there are no definite rules as to what the judgment of a High court acting in its appellate as well as revisional jurisdiction should contain, because the judgment of the High Court in its criminal jurisdiction is ordinarily final and does not therefore require the statement of any reasons, especially in a revision application where the parties are not bound to be heard. In the absence of anything to show that the order was passed on a preliminary ground without going into the merits of the point raised in the reference, it must, in our opinion, be presumed that the order is a final order on the merits and as such amounts to a judgment. "

In that case a reference had been disposed of by the High Court of Bombay with a very brief order consisting of five words no order on this reference* and it was held that the order amounted to a judgment which could not be reviewed.


( 5 ) BUT even apart from the provisions of Section 369, Cr. P. C. , there appears to be high authority for the view that finality attaches to orders passed by a High Court in appeals and criminal revisions once they are decided, and it is not open to the same High Court to alter or review the same. Any one feeling aggrieved by the orders can seek his remedy before the Supreme Court alone. Thus, in U. J. S. Chopra v. State of Bombay, (S) AIR 1955 SC 633 Das J. (as lie then was) laid down at page 644:

"the summary dismissal of an appeal or revision by the accused with or without hearing him or his pleader, but without issuing notice to the respondent is, so far as the accused is concerned a









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