High Court can’t recall under Section 482/528 BNSS to send probe to CBI; Supreme Court quashes transfer orders in Rajasthan mining FIRs
Case name: State of Rajasthan v. Parmeshwar Ramlal Joshi & Ors. (with connected SLPs)
Date of Order: 08 October 2025
Citation: 2025 INSC 1205; Criminal Appeal (arising out of SLP (Crl.) Nos. 2797–2798 of 2025)
Bench: Vikram Nath, J.; Sandeep Mehta, J. (author)
Held: A criminal court/High Court has no power to recall or review its own order under Section 528 BNSS (Section 482 CrPC); only clerical errors can be corrected under Section 403 BNSS (Section 362 CrPC). After a writ petition seeking transfer of investigation is withdrawn without liberty, a subsequent petition seeking the same relief cannot be entertained by merely changing the label. The Rajasthan High Court’s recall of its 16.01.2025 order and its subsequent direction transferring investigation to the CBI were without jurisdiction and liable to be set aside.
Summary: The complainant, a granite miner, first secured registration of FIR No. 211/2023 at P.S. Kareda, Bhilwara, on allegations of cheating, criminal breach of trust, extortion and conspiracy stemming from shareholding and lease disputes in two mining companies. A negative final report followed, against which a protest petition is pending. Two further FIRs—No. 202/2024 and No. 234/2024 were later registered under orders passed on applications under Section 156(3) CrPC/BNSS. Seeking transfer of the investigation from local police to an independent agency (CBI/SOG), the complainant filed a criminal writ petition on 17.10.2024, which was withdrawn on 23.10.2024. He then filed a fresh petition under Section 528 BNSS (Section 482 CrPC) asking for the same transfer; on 16.01.2025, the High Court declined transfer and gave only a limited direction permitting a representation to the Superintendent of Police to ensure a fair, impartial and expeditious probe. Within days, by a “modification/correction” application, the complainant sought to convert this refusal into a CBI transfer. Without any pleaded clerical error in the earlier order, the High Court on 24.01.2025 recalled its 16.01.2025 order citing “inadvertence,” and on 04.02.2025 transferred investigation of both FIRs to the CBI. Allowing the State’s appeals, the Supreme Court held that the High Court’s recall amounted to an impermissible review barred by Section 403 BNSS/Section 362 CrPC; there was no clerical mistake in the 16.01.2025 order, which was a considered refusal to transfer. Further, after withdrawal of the earlier writ without liberty, the complainant could not pursue the same relief in a differently styled petition; his proper course, if aggrieved, was to challenge the withdrawal order or the 16.01.2025 order in accordance with law.
Decision: Appeals allowed. The High Court’s orders dated 24 January 2025 (recall) and 4 February 2025 (CBI transfer) are quashed. Liberty is reserved to the complainant to seek appropriate remedies against the earlier orders dated 23 October 2024 (writ withdrawn) and 16 January 2025 (limited direction) in accordance with law. The connected SLPs are dismissed as infructuous.