Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Section 362 CrPC: Inherent Power of High Courts to Recall Judgments Upheld
Case Title: Mahavir @ Anvish v State of Madhya Pradesh
Case No.: SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. 5654 OF 2026
Coram: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandshekhar
Court Observation
“The provisions under section 362 cannot be considered in a rigid or overtechnical manner to defeat the ends of justice. The bar of section 362 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall not operate in cases where the order or judgment under consideration was without jurisdiction and inherent power of the High Court can be exercised to recall such orders,”
“no man should suffer a wrong by technical procedure of irregularities. Rules or procedures are the handmaids of justice and not the mistress of the justice. Ex debito justitiae, we must do justice to him. If a man has been wronged so long as it lies within the human machinery of administration of justice that wrong must be remedied.”
“The High Court has undoubted jurisdiction to recall its own order or judgment which results in miscarriage of justice. Subject to a decision in any case on the merits by this Court, a fundamental issue which will change the course of the decision remains open in the case so long as the High Court is seized with the matter. The High Court shall have inherent jurisdiction to correct its order or judgment and do complete justice. The limitation on inherent power of the High Court is a kind of self-restraint originating from the philosophy of judicial propriety. This shall, however, not be an issue falling in the realm of inherent limitations under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if the High Court decides to recall its previous order or judgment because a mistake was committed by the Court. If the juvenile was denied a statutory benefit and thereby a grave prejudice was caused to him, the High Court has all powers to remedy the situation and secure the ends of justice,”
