Section 528 BNSS: Saving of inherent powers of High Court (Formerly Section 482 CrPC)

Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Saving of inherent powers of High Court

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

Nothing in this Sanhita shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Sanhita, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 528

Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 preserves the inherent powers of the High Court to prevent abuse of process and secure the ends of justice, serving as the statutory successor to Section 482 CrPC.

Statutory Powers & Jurisdiction: Section 528 enacts the foundational inherent jurisdiction of the High Court: nothing in this Sanhita shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Sanhita, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.
Savings Clause & Priority of Special Laws: This non-obstante savings provision ensures that no procedural rigidity can prevent the High Court from remedying grave injustices, quashing malicious FIRs, or terminating vexatious prosecutions.

Key Landmark Precedents:

State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992) Supp (1) SCC 335: The Supreme Court established the legendary seven categories where the High Court must exercise inherent power to quash an FIR or criminal proceeding, including where allegations do not disclose any cognizable offence, where allegations are absurd or inherently improbable, and where proceedings are maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive.
R.P. Kapur v. State of Punjab (AIR 1960 SC 866): The Constitution Bench settled that inherent power is exercised ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice, particularly where there is a legal bar against the institution of proceedings or where the evidence does not constitute the alleged offence.
Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra (2021) 19 SCC 401: The 3-Judge Bench held that High Courts must exercise caution; while inherent power to quash exists, courts should not pass routine blanket interim orders of 'no coercive steps' while declining to quash the FIR.

Legal Commentary:

Section 528 is the ultimate constitutional and statutory reservoir of justice in Indian criminal procedure. It is the primary vehicle to quash frivolous FIRs, commercial disputes dressed as criminal offences, matrimonial harassment under 498A BNS, and charge-sheets lacking statutory sanction.