Order of High Court on appeal to be certificated to lower Court
Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with order of High Court on appeal to be certificated to lower Court. Whenever a case is decided on appeal by the High Court under this Chapter, it shall certify its judgment or order to the Court by which the finding, sentence or order appealed against was recorded or passed and if such Court is that of a Judicial Magistrate other than the Chief Judicial Magistrate, The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) Whenever a case is decided on appeal by the High Court under this Chapter, it shall certify its judgment or order to the Court by which the finding, sentence or order appealed against was recorded or passed and if such Court is that of a Judicial Magistrate other than the Chief Judicial Magistrate, the High Court's judgment or order shall be sent through the Chief Judicial Magistrate; and if such Court is that of an Executive Magistrate, the High Court's judgment or order shall be sent through the District Magistrate.
(2) The Court to which the High Court certifies its judgment or order shall thereupon make such orders as are conformable to the judgment or order of the High Court; and, if necessary, the record shall be amended in accordance therewith.
Section 388, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 429 Order of High Court on appeal to be certified to lower Court Text carried over almost unchanged 93%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Puvvada Venkata Krishna Murthy vs The State of A.p.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a cheque is issued towards discharge of a legally enforceable debt and is dishonored due to insufficient funds, the issuer commits an offense under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The presentation of a cheque on multiple occasions, each resulting in dishonor, constitutes separate causes of action. The presumption under Section 146 of the Negotiable Instruments Act applies to validate the fact of dishonor based on the bank's official cheque return memo, and technical errors in the date of the memo (such as a Sunday date) do not invalidate the entire case if the bank has issued an official note confirming dishonor. The absence of cross-examination on key facts (such as the signature on the cheque and promissory note, or the loan amount) and the failure of the accused to adduce defense evidence or testify in his own defense strengthen the case against the accused.
On this section: Certification of order to subordinate court - direction given by the High Court to certify its order to the trial court for execution of sentence
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Diya Chandrayudu vs State of A.p
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a criminal revision case is filed against concurrent findings of two courts below (trial court and appellate court), the High Court will not interfere unless there are compelling reasons to do so. In cases involving recovery of stolen property with consistent witness testimony and proper identification by the victims, the conviction under Section 411 IPC is sustainable even if the test identification parade is conducted by a non-specialized officer like an Assistant Panchayat Secretary, provided the evidence is credible and corroborated by multiple witnesses. The credibility of witnesses, particularly mediators and investigating officers, should be assessed based on their testimony, demeanor, and whether they have any motive to falsely support the prosecution.
On this section: Certification of orders - the High Court directed the registry to certify the order to the trial court for execution of sentence.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 388
What have the courts held on Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Puvvada Venkata Krishna Murthy vs The State of A.p. (22 Feb 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Certification of order to subordinate court - direction given by the High Court to certify its order to the trial court for execution of sentence. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below.
How do I find court cases under Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CRPC 388, section 388 CRPC, section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Puvvada Venkata Krishna Murthy vs The State of A.p. (22 Feb 2024).
What should I read with Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 429 (Order of High Court on appeal to be certified to lower Court), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 388, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.