By Legum Pacific Editorial ·
Suppose a shopkeeper finds a First Information Report (FIR) filed against him. He asks whether the new Sanhita changes what the High Court can do. He also asks what happens to a trial that was already pending when the Sanhita came into force.
What does the law say?
Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita states: “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.”
Those are the exact words used in the Sanhita. The section keeps (does not remove) the High Court’s inherent powers. It lists three purposes for which the High Court may make orders:
- to give effect to any order under the Sanhita; or
- to prevent abuse of the process of any Court; or
- otherwise to secure the ends of justice.
The Sanhita uses exactly these three phrases in section 528.
How does the Sanhita treat the old Code and pending cases?
Section 531 begins by saying: “The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is hereby repealed.” That is section 531(1) in the Sanhita.
Section 531(2) then provides transitional rules in specific terms. The Sanhita says all of the following, in its own words:
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If, immediately before the date on which this Sanhita comes into force, there is any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending, then such appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation shall be disposed of, continued, held or made, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as in force immediately before such commencement, as if this Sanhita had not come into force.
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All notifications published, proclamations issued, powers conferred, forms provided by rules, local jurisdictions defined, sentences passed and orders, rules and appointments, not being appointments as Special Magistrates, made under the said Code and which are in force immediately before the commencement of this Sanhita, shall be deemed, respectively, to have been published, issued, conferred, specified, defined, passed or made under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita.
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Any sanction accorded or consent given under the said Code in pursuance of which no proceeding was commenced under that Code shall be deemed to have been accorded or given under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita and proceedings may be commenced under this Sanhita in pursuance of such sanction or consent.
Section 531(3) states in the Sanhita’s own words: “Where the period specified for an application or other proceeding under the said Code had expired on or before the commencement of this Sanhita, nothing in this Sanhita shall be construed as enabling any such application to be made or proceeding to be commenced under this Sanhita by reason only of the fact that a longer period therefor is specified by this Sanhita or provisions are made in this Sanhita for the extension of time.”
Those four paragraphs are the precise transitional rules the Sanhita sets out. They are quoted here in plain text from the Sanhita.
What does this mean in plain words?
The Sanhita itself keeps the High Court’s inherent powers and lists three purposes for their use. The Sanhita also repeals the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and then gives specific rules for how matters pending at the moment of change should be handled. The transitional rules in section 531 are expressed in clear terms. They say that matters pending immediately before the Sanhita began are to be dealt with according to the old Code as that Code stood immediately before the Sanhita began. The Sanhita also says that instruments and acts made under the old Code are to be treated as if they were made under corresponding provisions of the Sanhita. The Sanhita further states that previous sanctions or consents under the old Code, where no proceeding had been started, shall be treated as accorded under corresponding provisions of the Sanhita and that proceedings may be commenced on that basis. Finally, the Sanhita expressly states that it does not revive applications or proceedings whose time limits under the old Code had already expired before the Sanhita began, simply because the Sanhita allows a longer period or extension.
These sentences restate, in simple words, the exact lines used in sections 528 and 531 of the Sanhita.
Key points
- Section 528 says the Sanhita does not limit or affect the High Court’s inherent powers and lists three purposes for using those powers.
- Section 531(1) repeals the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
- Section 531(2)(a)-(c) sets out transitional rules for pending appeals, applications, trials, inquiries or investigations; for notifications and powers made under the old Code; and for sanctions or consents given under the old Code.
- Section 531(3) says the Sanhita does not allow an application or proceeding whose time limit under the old Code had already expired to be started merely because the Sanhita provides a longer period or power to extend time.
- The quoted sentences in this note are taken from sections 528 and 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Laws referred to
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 528
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 531 (1)-(3)
Official sources
This guide explains what the law itself says. Court rulings interpreting these provisions can also affect how they apply in a particular case. It states the position under the official texts listed above, as at 4 November 2026.
Source: Official text (egazette.gov.in) (opens in a new tab)