BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 22.01.2026 CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI Anvar Batcha @ Anwar Basha ... Petitioner Vs.

The State of Tamilnadu represented by The Inspector of Police, Aranthangi Police Station, Pudukkottai District.

(Crime No.459 of 2018) ... Respondent PRAYER : Petition filed under Section 528 of BNSS, 2023 to direct the learned Sub Court, Aranthangi, Pudukkottai District to consider and pass orders on same day at the time of surrender of the petitioner the petition filed u/S. 70(2) Cr.P.C. / 74(2) BNSS for recalling the Non-Bailable Warrant issued in SC No. 121 of 2022 on the file of the learned Sub Court, Aranthangi, Pudukkottai District.

For Petitioner : Mr. D. Arun Kumar For Respondent : Mr. M. Sakthi Kumar Government Advocate (Crl.)

ORDER

PROLOGUE

1. The criminal process is not merely a mechanism for securing convictions, but a constitutional instrument for balancing the competing imperatives of societal order, victim justice, and individual liberty. While the presence of an accused before the trial Court is indispensable for the orderly progress of criminal proceedings, coercive processes such as Non-Bailable Warrants are not intended to operate as punitive tools, divorced from the realities of human conduct and procedural contingencies.

2. Equally, the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (corresponding to Section 482 CrPC) is extraordinary in nature and cannot be permitted to supplant or short- circuit the statutory remedies expressly provided before the trial Courts. An overzealous invocation of such jurisdiction in matters relating to recall of warrants would not only erode the authority of trial Courts but would also impede the expeditious disposal of criminal cases, thereby frustrating the mandate of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

3. It is in the above constitutional and statutory backdrop that the present Criminal Original Petition, seeking a direction relating to recall of a Non-

Bailable Warrant, falls for consideration.

GIST OF THE CASES & RELIEF SOUGHT

4. Gist of the Case:

There was a previous enmity between the petitioner and the defacto complainant, due to this, on 06.11.2018 at about 12.30 pm., when the defacto complainant was speaking with his friends in front of the jewel shop, the petitioner along with other accused came there and abused the defacto complainant using filthy language and attacked with aruval. Hence, an FIR was registered against the petitioner for the offence under Section 294(b), 307 IPC (corresponding to Section 296(b) and 109 BNS).

5. Relief Sought:

Seeking direction to the learned Sub Court, Aranthangi, Pudukkottai District to consider and pass orders on same day at the time of surrender of the petitioner in the petition filed u/S. 70(2) Cr.P.C. / 74(2) BNSS for recalling the Non-Bailable Warrant issued in SC No.121 of 2022 on the file of the learned Sub Court, Aranthangi, Pudukkottai District.

6. Grounds urged by the petitioner:

The petitioner regularly appeared before the trial Court. On 13.06.2024, the petitioner was not able to appear before the trial Court due to his relative condolence. However, the learned counsel has not filed absent petition. Hence, NBW was issued against the petitioner. The absence was absolutely neither willful nor wanton. He further submitted that he is ready to abide by any conditions imposed by this Court.

Submissions:

7. The learned counsel for the petitioner relying upon the judgment of this Court in Crl.O.P.No.6472 of 2025 dated 07.03.2025, Crl.O.P.No.4514 of 2016 dated 02.03.2016 and similar orders, submitted that, this Court has appreciated similar cases and had allowed the same by directing the petitioner to appear before the learned trial Court and file a petition under Section 70(2) of Cr.P.C,1973/ 72(2) of BNSS,2023, to recall NBW already issued against him and on filing the same, the trial court has further been directed to consid