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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 22.01.2026 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI

1.Vadivel 2.Devaraj

3.Mariyappan

4.Sankar

5.Gopalakrishnan

6.Sakthivel

7.Ramadurai ... Petitioners/Accused 1-7 Vs.

1.The State of Tamil Nadu, Rep.by The Inspector of Police, Krishnaraiyapuram Police Station, Karur District. ... Respondent/Complainant 2.Dharmaraj ... Respondent/Defacto Complainant Prayer : Criminal Original Petition is filed under Section 528 of BNSS, 2023, to direct the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate Court, Krishnarayapuram, Karur District recall the warrant dated 08.08.2025 in C.C.No.104 of 2025 on the file of the on the same day surrender and considered application.

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For Petitioners : Mr.J.Sivaram For Respondents : Mr.M.Sakthi Kumar 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.

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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:

The 2^nd respondent has filed a private complaint under Section

223 BNSS, 1881 before the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate Court, Krishnarayapuram, Karur District and the same was numbered as C.M.P.No.56 of 2025.

5. Relief Sought:

To direct the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate Court, Krishnarayapuram, Karur District recall the warrant dated

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08.08.2025 in C.C.No.104 of 2025 on the file of the on the same day surrender and considered application.

6. Grounds urged by the petitioners:

Since the petitioners were not aware of the private complaint filed by the 2^nd respondent, the petitioners were not unable to appear before the trial Court. Hence, the trial Court issued NBW against the petitioners.

Submissions:

7. The learned counsels for the petitioners 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 petitioners 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 petitioners sought for a similar order seeking disposition of the case in a similar manner.

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8. Per contra, the learned Government Advocate categorically contended that this Court cannot invoke Section 482/528 Cr.P.C/BNSS in warrant recall matters and insisted that the petition