State of Rajasthan vs. Parmeshwar Ramlal Joshi and Others
Background
The respondent, a mining businessman in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, had lodged FIRs against certain parties over disputes connected to his granite mining leases. He sought transfer of the investigation in those FIRs to the CBI. The Rajasthan High Court initially granted him only limited relief on 16 January 2025. Shortly after, on the respondent's application, the same Single Judge first recalled that order (24 January 2025) on the stated ground that it was the product of a "clerical mistake," and then, on 4 February 2025, went on to actually transfer the investigation of two FIRs to the CBI. The State of Rajasthan challenged both orders before the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court found that the High Court's order of 16 January 2025 disclosed no clerical or inadvertent error at all: the complainant had simply sought a review of that order "plain and simple," which is not permissible under the inherent powers exercised (Section 528 BNSS, formerly Section 482 CrPC, which does not include a general power of review). The Court held that the High Court had, in substance, impermissibly reviewed its own earlier order under the guise of "recalling" it, and that this vitiated the subsequent order transferring the investigation to the CBI. The Supreme Court accordingly quashed both the recall order and the CBI-transfer order, while leaving the complainant free to pursue any lawful remedy against the earlier orders if he chose to.
Lesson Learnt
A High Court exercising its inherent criminal jurisdiction cannot use the label of "recall" to disguise what is really an impermissible review of its own earlier order; procedural correctness in how a court reopens or changes its own orders matters just as much as the substance of the relief sought.