Section 442 BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 442 BNSS at a Glance
Section 442 BNSS deals with high Court's powers of revision. It replaced Section 401 CrPC on 1 July 2024.
Section 442 BNSS Bare Act Text
(1) In the case of any proceeding the record of which has been called for by itself or which otherwise comes to its knowledge, the High Court may, in its discretion, exercise any of the powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by sections 427, 430, 431 and 432 or on a Court of Session by section 344, and, when the Judges composing the Court of revision are equally divided in opinion, the case shall be disposed of in the manner provided by section 433.
(2) No order under this section shall be made to the prejudice of the accused or other person unless he has had an opportunity of being heard either personally or by advocate in his own defence.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise a High Court to convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction.
(4) Where under this Sanhita an appeal lies and no appeal is brought, no proceeding by way of revision shall be entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed.
(5) Where under this Sanhita an appeal lies but an application for revision has been made to the High Court by any person and the High Court is satisfied that such application was made under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto and that it is necessary in the interests of justice so to do, the High Court may treat the application for revision as a petition of appeal and deal with the same accordingly.
Source: Section 442, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 442 BNSS in Simple Words
Section 442 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 governs what the High Court may do in revision when it calls for the record of any proceeding or when a proceeding otherwise comes to its knowledge.
The High Court may, in its discretion, exercise specified powers of a Court of Appeal or a Court of Session under the Sanhita, and follows a set rule when the Judges composing the Court of revision are equally divided in opinion.
Section 442 BNSS also requires an opportunity of being heard before any prejudicial order is made, forbids converting a finding of acquittal into one of conviction, and addresses cases where an appeal lies.
When Section 442 BNSS Applies
- When the High Court has called for the record of any proceeding itself or the proceeding otherwise comes to its knowledge, it may, in its discretion, exercise any of the powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by Sections 427, 430, 431 and 432 or on a Court of Session by Section 344 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
- If the Judges composing the Court of revision under Section 442(1) BNSS are equally divided in opinion, the case shall be disposed of in the manner provided by Section 433 BNSS.
- No order under Section 442(2) BNSS shall be made to the prejudice of the accused or other person unless that person has first been given an opportunity of being heard in defence, either in person or through an advocate.
- Where an appeal lies under the Sanhita but any person makes a revision application to the High Court, the High Court under Section 442(5) BNSS may treat that application as a petition of appeal and deal with it as one if satisfied that it was made under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto and that doing so is necessary in the interests of justice.
Example of Section 442 BNSS
When Section 442 BNSS Does Not Apply
- Section 442(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 does not authorise a High Court to convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction.
- Where an appeal lies under the Sanhita and no appeal is brought, no proceeding by way of revision under Section 442(4) BNSS shall be entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed.
Section 442 BNSS in the CrPC (Previous Law)
Section 442 BNSS replaced Section 401 CrPC from 1 July 2024.
Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 became Section 442 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024, with every sub-section retained and the revision rules unchanged. In Section 442(2) BNSS, the word pleader in Section 401(2) CrPC is replaced with advocate. The remaining differences are changes of form, namely renumbering the section, updating the cross-references in Section 401(1) CrPC from Sections 386, 389, 390, 391, 307 and 392 to Sections 427, 430, 431, 432, 344 and 433 in Section 442(1) BNSS, replacing Code with Sanhita in Section 442(4) BNSS and Section 442(5) BNSS, and lowercasing Revision and Justice.
Each sub-section below names its own source.
FAQs on Section 442 BNSS
What powers can the High Court exercise in revision under Section 442 BNSS?▼
In the case of any proceeding the record of which has been called for by itself or which otherwise comes to its knowledge, the High Court under Section 442(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 may, in its discretion, exercise any of the powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by Sections 427, 430, 431 and 432 BNSS or on a Court of Session by Section 344 BNSS.
How is a case disposed of under Section 442 BNSS when the Judges are equally divided in opinion?▼
When the Judges composing the Court of revision are equally divided in opinion in a proceeding under Section 442(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the case shall be disposed of in the manner provided by Section 433 BNSS.
Does Section 442 BNSS require a hearing before an order is made to the prejudice of the accused?▼
Yes. Section 442(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides that no order under Section 442 BNSS shall be made to the prejudice of the accused or other person unless that person has had an opportunity of being heard in his own defence. The opportunity of being heard may be exercised either personally or by advocate.
What changed from Section 401 CrPC to Section 442 BNSS from 1 July 2024?▼
Section 442 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 corresponds to Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from 1 July 2024, and the underlying rule on the powers of revision of the High Court is unchanged. In Section 442(2) BNSS, the word pleader is replaced with advocate. The remaining differences, including renumbering the provision, updating internal cross-references in Section 442(1) BNSS, and replacing Code with Sanhita in Section 442(4) BNSS and Section 442(5) BNSS, are changes of form.
Section 442 BNSS: Sub-sections Explained
Section 442(1) BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
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Bare Act Text
(1) In the case of any proceeding the record of which has been called for by itself or which otherwise comes to its knowledge, the High Court may, in its discretion, exercise any of the powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by sections 427, 430, 431 and 432 or on a Court of Session by section 344, and, when the Judges composing the Court of revision are equally divided in opinion, the case shall be disposed of in the manner provided by section 433.
Section 442(2) BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
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Bare Act Text
(2) No order under this section shall be made to the prejudice of the accused or other person unless he has had an opportunity of being heard either personally or by advocate in his own defence.
Section 442(3) BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
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Bare Act Text
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise a High Court to convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction.
Section 442(4) BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
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Bare Act Text
(4) Where under this Sanhita an appeal lies and no appeal is brought, no proceeding by way of revision shall be entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed.
Section 442(5) BNSS: High Court's powers of revision
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Bare Act Text
(5) Where under this Sanhita an appeal lies but an application for revision has been made to the High Court by any person and the High Court is satisfied that such application was made under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto and that it is necessary in the interests of justice so to do, the High Court may treat the application for revision as a petition of appeal and deal with the same accordingly.
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Sources: Bare Act Text, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Last updated: 21 Oct 2026 ·