Section 401 CrPC: High Court's powers of revision

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 401 CrPC at a Glance

Section 401 CrPC deals with high Court's powers of revision. From 1 July 2024 it is replaced by Section 442 BNSS.

Now BNSS

Section 442 →

What Section 401 CrPC Says

401. High Court's powers of revision

(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 386, 389, 390 and 391 or on a Court of Session by section 307, 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 392.

(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 pleader 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 Code 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 Code 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 401, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 401 CrPC in Simple Words

Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 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 Code.

At the same time, Section 401 CrPC requires an opportunity of being heard before any order is made to the prejudice of the accused or other person, bars converting a finding of acquittal into one of conviction, and addresses cases where an appeal lies.

When Section 401 CrPC 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 given to a Court of Appeal by Sections 386, 389, 390 and 391 or to a Court of Session by Section 307 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
  • If the Judges who make up the Court of Revision under Section 401(1) CrPC are equally divided in opinion, the case shall be disposed of in the way laid down by Section 392 CrPC.
  • No order under Section 401(2) CrPC 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 a pleader.
  • Where an appeal lies under the Code but any person files a revision application in the High Court, the High Court under Section 401(5) CrPC may treat that application as a petition of appeal and deal with it as one if satisfied that it was filed under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto and that doing so is necessary in the interests of Justice.

Example of Section 401 CrPC

Ramesh is acquitted in a proceeding, and the record is called for by the High Court under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The High Court examines the record and considers passing an order to the prejudice of Ramesh. Under Section 401(2) CrPC, no order shall be made to the prejudice of Ramesh unless he has had an opportunity of being heard either personally or by pleader in his own defence. Further, even after hearing him, Section 401(3) CrPC states that nothing in Section 401 CrPC shall be deemed to authorise the High Court to convert the finding of acquittal of Ramesh into one of conviction.

When Section 401 CrPC Does Not Apply

  • Section 401(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 does not authorise a High Court to convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction.
  • Where an appeal lies under the Code and no appeal is brought, no proceeding by way of revision under Section 401(4) CrPC shall be entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed.

Section 401 CrPC Under BNSS 442: What Changed

Section 401 CrPC is now covered under Section 442 BNSS.

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.

View detailed comparison (CrPC 401 vs BNSS 442) →

FAQs on Section 401 CrPC

Can the High Court pass an order to the prejudice of the accused under Section 401 CrPC without a hearing?▼

No. Section 401(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 states that no order under Section 401 CrPC 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 person may be heard either personally or by pleader before any prejudicial order is passed by the High Court in revision.

Can the High Court convert a finding of acquittal into a conviction under Section 401 CrPC?▼

No. Even though the High Court may, in its discretion, exercise the powers conferred on a Court of Appeal by Sections 386, 389, 390 and 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Section 401(3) CrPC sets an express limit. It provides that nothing in Section 401 CrPC shall be deemed to authorise a High Court to convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction.

What happens under Section 401 CrPC when an appeal lies under the Code but a party files for revision instead?▼

Where an appeal lies under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and no appeal is brought, no revision proceeding shall be entertained under Section 401(4) CrPC at the instance of the party who could have appealed. Under Section 401(5) CrPC, when the High Court is satisfied that a revision application was made under the erroneous belief that no appeal lies thereto and that it is necessary in the interests of Justice, it may treat it as a petition of appeal and deal with it accordingly.

Where is Section 401 CrPC found from 1 July 2024?▼

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. From 1 July 2024, the provision corresponding to Section 401 CrPC is found in Section 442 BNSS, with Section 401(1) CrPC, Section 401(2) CrPC, Section 401(3) CrPC, Section 401(4) CrPC and Section 401(5) CrPC mapping to Section 442(1) BNSS, Section 442(2) BNSS, Section 442(3) BNSS, Section 442(4) BNSS and Section 442(5) BNSS.

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Sources: Bare Act Text, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 · Last updated: 21 Oct 2026 ·