What do you mean by Revision? Explain the power of the Court for revision inter alia stating its jurisdiction.

Question: What do you mean by Revision? Explain the power of the Court for revision inter alia stating its jurisdiction. [U.P.C.J. 1988]

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Answer

Revision means where a higher court calls for the record of the case decided by a court subordinate to it to check whether the jurisdiction, procedure, and legal principles were duly followed while disposing of the case. Revision is different from appeal and review in several ways.

On one hand, revision means checking the judgment of a lower court only with respect to the procedural and jurisdictional aspects whereas in appeal the entire case is heard again. Further, in revision, there need not be a hearing conducted. The court can call for records and decide on that basis. In appeal, there is always a separate hearing from the very beginning. Lastly, review means analysis of a judgment by the court which gave the judgment

Sections 399 and 401 of the CrPC deal with the revisionary powers of the Sessions Court and High Courts respectively. Section 399 provides that a Sessions Court shall have the same revisionary powers as the High Court under Section 401 and the procedure to be followed by the Sessions Court is also the same. Therefore, the powers of the two courts are analyzed together under one common head.

Prerequisites to the Exercise of Revisionary Powers

• Calling of Records of Case

The court, first of all, must call for the records of the case which are to be revised by the court which previously heard the matter. The records contain the FIR or Complaint, the Witness Statements recorded under Section 161 CrPC, the Confession recorded under Section 164 CrPC (if any), the deposition of witnesses before the court, their examination-in-chief and cross-examination, any documents brought on record, and lastly, the original or certified copy of the judgment of the court from which the revision is intended.

• The Party must be Unsatisfied

Revision of judgment, like appeal, can be brought by either party to a case who is unsatisfied by the findings of the court which rendered prior judgment. However, the court can revise the judgment only on procedural aspects and not on its merits.

• Discretionary Power

Section 401 states that the court may “in its discretion” exercise revisionary powers to grant relief to a party. The term discretion awards wide powers to the courts to accept or refuse the revision of the judgment. The courts are required to use this discretion wisely and to ensure that justice is not hampered.

Revisionary powers allow the court to interfere with the decision of a lower and to rectify any error caused by it and it, therefore, is the first step to acquiring the faith of people in the judiciary. If this power is misused or abused, the only remedy left is an appeal which requires huge time and expense for the parties.

Available Remedies under Revisionary Jurisdiction

The courts, in their revisionary jurisdiction, are entitled to use all powers and grant all remedies as provided under Sections 386, 389, 390, and 391 of the CrPC. These remedies can be listed as follows:

1. If the revision petition is filed by the Prosecutor against an order of acquittal, the revisionary court may reverse the order of acquittal into conviction or order that the case is further investigated and if any evidentiary material is found, the accused be retried.
2. If the revision is for an order of conviction filed by the accused person, the court may acquit the accused or order that a retrial is conducted and due procedure of law be followed.
3. The court, in a revision from the conviction order, may also inquire upon the findings of the lower court on which the sentence is decided and may alter such sentence if necessary.
4. The court may, in an order of conviction, change the nature of the sentence imposed upon the accused by the lower court. It means that the revisionary court may alter a sentence of rigorous imprisonment to simple imprisonment.
5. If the revision is filed for the augmentation of the sentence imposed by the lower court, the court may change the sentence and enhance it according to the materials available.
6. When a person has filed an appeal against the conviction order of the lower court before an appellate court, the revisionary court may suspend the sentence of the accused till the appeal is disposed of and may enlarge the accused on bail.
7. If the revision is against an order of acquittal, the revisionary court may order to arrest of the accused who was earlier released by the lower court. In such an arrest, the accused have all the rights of an arrested person as guaranteed by the CrPC.

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