Power of Supreme Court to transfer cases and appeals
Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with power of Supreme Court to transfer cases and appeals. Whenever it is made to appear to the Supreme Court that an order under this section is expedient for the ends of justice, it may direct that any particular case or appeal be transferred from one High Court to another High Court or from a Criminal Court subordinate to one High Court to another Crimin 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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 it is made to appear to the Supreme Court that an order under this section is expedient for the ends of justice, it may direct that any particular case or appeal be transferred from one High Court to another High Court or from a Criminal Court subordinate to one High Court to another Criminal Court of equal or superior jurisdiction subordinate to another High Court.
(2) The Supreme Court may act under this section only on the application of the Attorney-General of India or of a party interested, and every such application shall be made by motion, which shall, except when the applicant is the Attorney-General of India or the Advocate-General of the State, be supported by affidavit or affirmation.
(3) Where any application for the exercise of the powers conferred by this section is dismissed, the Supreme Court may, if it is of opinion that the application was frivolous or vexatious, order the applicant to pay by way of compensation to any person who has opposed the application such sum not exceeding one thousand rupees as it may consider appropriate In the circumstances of the case.
Section 406, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 446 Power of Supreme Court to transfer cases and appeals Text carried over almost unchanged 99%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
-
Abdul Nazar Madani v. State of Tamil Nadu
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment of Main Case order-1.pdf 2000-05-05 DATE VERIFIED. Thomas/Sethi. Transfer petition (Coimbatore blasts). CrPC 406 power to transfer is used only if the apprehension of an unfair trial is reasonable; a surcharged atmosphere or convenience of one accused is not enough. Convenience of witnesses and other accused also counts. Petition dismissed. Map crpc 406 + BNSS 446 successor.
On this section: SC transfer under s.406 requires a reasonable apprehension of an unfair trial; a surcharged atmosphere or one accused's convenience is not enough (Madani).
-
Bhiaru Ram vs Central Bureau of Investigation
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The power to transfer a criminal case under Section 406 CrPC is available only when it is expedient for the ends of justice. Mere inconvenience to parties and witnesses, however genuine, is not a sufficient ground for transfer. A party seeking transfer must demonstrate a reasonable apprehension that justice will not be done if the case remains in the chosen forum. The court must be satisfied that the trial in the current forum will result in denial of justice or failure of justice before exercising its discretionary power to transfer. Convenience is a permissible consideration only when coupled with reasonable apprehension of impropriety or denial of justice.
On this section: The Court examined the jurisdictional power of the Supreme Court to transfer criminal cases from one High Court jurisdiction to another. The Court held that transfer is permitted only when it appears to the Court that such transfer is 'expedient for the ends of justice' and that mere convenience cannot satisfy this requirement.
-
Shikha Tiwari vs Prateek
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a party to family court proceedings has shifted residence to another state, the Supreme Court may exercise its discretionary power under Section 406 CrPC to transfer the pending case to a court in the new place of residence, notwithstanding the objection of the other party based on employment connection to the original court jurisdiction. The residential relocation of a petitioner constitutes a sufficient ground for transfer, particularly when it has been established through the party's own statements in proceedings and when previous transfer requests between the same parties have been granted on similar grounds.
On this section: Section 406 provides the Supreme Court with power to transfer cases from one court to another. The Court invoked this section as the primary statutory basis for granting the transfer petition, allowing movement of the case between Family Courts in different states based on the petitioner's residential relocation.
-
Durgesh Sharma vs Jayshree
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A High Court has no power, authority or jurisdiction to transfer a case, appeal or other proceeding pending in a Court subordinate to it to any Court subordinate to another High Court. Only the Supreme Court of India, in exercise of power under Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, can effect such transfer. Section 23(3) of the CPC is merely a procedural provision specifying the forum for making an application and does not confer substantive power of transfer. Where courts are subordinate to different High Courts, application for transfer must be made to the Supreme Court under Section 25. The provisions of Sections 22 to 25 of the CPC relating to transfer are exhaustive in nature, and no other provision or inherent power can be invoked to effect inter-High Court transfers.
On this section: Analogous provision in criminal procedure granting Supreme Court wide powers to transfer criminal cases. Parliament used this as a model while amending Section 25 of CPC to grant similar powers to Supreme Court for civil cases.
-
Haji Mahboob Ahmad vs Kalyan Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The Supreme Court of India has the constitutional power under Article 142 to transfer criminal proceedings from one court to another to remedy procedural defects and ensure complete justice, even when the High Court has statutory power under Section 407 of the Criminal Procedure Code to do so. This power can be exercised when crimes that shake the secular fabric of the Constitution have allegedly been committed and the accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of procedural defects and the conduct of the investigating agency. The transfer does not violate Article 21 of the Constitution because the procedure established by law itself contemplates such transfers under Section 407 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the absence of a non-obstante clause in Section 11(1) proviso of the Criminal Procedure Code distinguishes this case from cases where substantive rights are infringed. Additionally, criminal conspiracy charges already contained in a joint charge sheet cannot be separated from the accused persons by discharging them, and all offences committed in the course of the same transaction to accomplish a conspiracy must be tried jointly.
On this section: Power of Supreme Court to transfer cases - the Court held this section does not apply to transfers between courts subordinate to the same High Court
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
-
… For the sake of convenience, the Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 608 of 2024 is treated as the lead matter. - 3. This transfer petition filed under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Cr.P.C.") is at the instance of a proprietary concern through its proprietor with a prayer to transfer Criminal Case No. 4016 of 2021 titled as Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited v. M/s Shri Sendhur Agro and Oil Industries pending in the court of Judicial Magistrate …
-
… For the sake of convenience, the Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 608 of 2024 is treated as the lead matter. - 3. This transfer petition filed under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Cr.P.C.") is at the instance of a proprietary concern through its proprietor with a prayer to transfer Criminal Case No. 4016 of 2021 titled as Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited v. M/s Shri Sendhur Agro and Oil Industries pending in the court of Judicial Magistrate …
-
… For the sake of convenience, the Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 608 of 2024 is treated as the lead matter. - 3. This transfer petition filed under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Cr.P.C.") is at the instance of a proprietary concern through its proprietor with a prayer to transfer Criminal Case No. 4016 of 2021 titled as Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited v. M/s Shri Sendhur Agro and Oil Industries pending in the court of Judicial Magistrate …
Questions about Section 406
What have the courts held on Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Abdul Nazar Madani v. State of Tamil Nadu (05 May 2000) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: SC transfer under s.406 requires a reasonable apprehension of an unfair trial; a surcharged atmosphere or one accused's convenience is not enough (Madani). Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2000 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 406 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 406, section 406 CRPC, section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 406 in bnss and crpc 406 ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Abdul Nazar Madani v. State of Tamil Nadu (05 May 2000).
What should I read with Section 406 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 446 (Power of Supreme Court to transfer cases and appeals), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 406, 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.