BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 16.02.2026 CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI Thangaraj ... Petitioner Vs.

The State of Tamilnadu, rep., by the Inspector of Police, Tiruppachethi Police Station, Sivagangai District.

Crime No.69 of 2022 ... Respondent PRAYER : Petition filed under Section 528 of BNSS, 2023 to direct the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Thiruppuvanam, Sivagangai District, to consider the warrant recall application to be filed by the petitioner on the same day of its filing on their surrendering in connection with the case in C.C.No.53 of 2023 on his file.

For Petitioner : Mr.Dhilipan Pandian for Mr.K.Sheenivasan For Respondent : Mr.M.Sakthikumar Government Advocate (crl.side)

ORDER

PROLOGUE 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:

A case in Crime No.69 of 2022 has been registered against the petitioner for the offences under Sections 294(b), 506(2) and 326 of IPC, which culminated in laying a charge sheet in C.C.No.53 of 2023 before the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Thiruppuvanam, Sivagangai District.

5. Relief Sought:

To recall the warrant issued against the petitioner by setting aside warrant dated 29.02.2024, issued by the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Thiruppuvanam, Sivagangai District, in C.C.No.53 of 2023.

6. Grounds urged by the petitioner:

The non-appearance before the trial Court is neither wilful nor wanton.

Since the petitioner was inside the prison in respect of other cases, he could not attend the Court for hearing and thereafter, NBW was issued against him.

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 consider the same on its own merits in accordance with law on the same day, making it clear that the disposal of the case in that manner by this Court do not amount to consider the recall petition favourably. Citing the same, the learned counsel for the petitioner sought for a similar order seeking disposition of the case in a similar manner.

8. Per contra, the learned Government Advocate (Crl.side) categorically contended that this Court cannot invoke section 482/528 Cr.P.C/BNSS in warrant recall matters and insisted that the petitioner’s remedy lies with the trial Court and on