Revision Procedure in India: Civil Revision Under CPC and Criminal Revision Under BNSS

Start with the appeal-versus-revision test

A revision petition should not be filed merely because a party disagrees with an order. The governing provision must confer revisional jurisdiction, and the challenged decision must fall within its scope. In civil matters, Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is directed to jurisdictional errors in cases decided by subordinate courts where no appeal lies. In criminal matters, Chapter XXXII of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 permits the High Court or Sessions Judge to examine the correctness, legality or propriety of specified findings, sentences or orders and the regularity of proceedings, subject to statutory restrictions. The threshold question is therefore not “Was the order wrong?” but “Does the statute permit revision of this order, by this court, on these grounds?”

What revision does and how it differs from an appeal

An appeal is a statutory right when the governing law creates one. Revision is ordinarily a narrower supervisory jurisdiction. A revisional court does not automatically conduct a complete rehearing of facts and law merely because another view is possible. Its function is tied to the statutory grounds that justify interference with a subordinate court's decision or procedure.

That difference matters at filing stage. If an appeal lies, Section 115 CPC does not permit the High Court to use civil revision as a substitute for the appellate route. On the criminal side, BNSS Section 438 allows the High Court or Sessions Judge to call for and examine records, but subsection (2) excludes interlocutory orders and subsection (3) prevents the same person from filing a second revision before the other forum after choosing either the High Court or Sessions Judge.

Civil revision under Section 115 CPC

Section 115 CPC permits the High Court to call for the record of a case decided by a subordinate court where no appeal lies and where the subordinate court appears to have exercised jurisdiction not vested in it, failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it, or acted in exercise of jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity. The central provision also limits interference with orders made during a suit or proceeding. Under the current central text, an interlocutory-type order is not to be varied or reversed unless the statutory final-disposal condition is satisfied.

The section therefore requires a jurisdiction-focused analysis. A party should identify the precise power the subordinate court allegedly lacked, refused to exercise, or exercised illegally or with material irregularity. Merely arguing that evidence was weighed incorrectly or that another conclusion would be preferable may not, without more, fit the revisional test.

Criminal revision under BNSS Chapter XXXII

BNSS Chapter XXXII contains the current reference-and-revision framework. Section 438 authorizes the High Court or a Sessions Judge to call for and examine the record of an inferior criminal court to assess the correctness, legality or propriety of a finding, sentence or order and the regularity of the proceeding. The court may, while calling for the record, direct suspension of execution and may address release on bond or bail pending examination of the record where the statute permits.

Section 440 addresses the Sessions Judge's revisional powers, Section 441 the Additional Sessions Judge, Section 442 the High Court's revisional powers, Section 443 transfer or withdrawal of revision matters, Section 444 hearing of parties, and Section 445 certification of the High Court's order to the lower court. The exact relief must be framed within these provisions rather than by importing appellate language.

Revision route map

Question	Civil revision	Criminal revision
Primary source	Section 115 CPC, subject to applicable amendments and court rules	BNSS Sections 438–445
Basic purpose	Supervise jurisdictional exercise by subordinate civil courts where no appeal lies	Examine correctness, legality, propriety and procedural regularity of inferior criminal-court proceedings
Appeal interaction	Revision is unavailable against a decree or order against which an appeal lies under the Code	Revision is not an alternate appeal and is subject to the BNSS framework
Interlocutory restriction	Section 115 contains a statutory restriction on interference with orders made during a suit or proceeding	BNSS Section 438(2) bars revision in relation to interlocutory orders
Stay	A revision does not itself operate as stay; a specific stay order is required where available	Suspension or interim protection depends on the statutory power and a specific court order

Step 1: identify the impugned order and the exact revisional provision

Begin with the certified or authenticated copy of the challenged order, the court that made it and the proceeding in which it arose. Then identify the exact statutory source of revision. A civil revision ordinarily starts with Section 115 CPC, but special statutes may create their own revisional route, forum or restriction. A criminal revision should be mapped to the BNSS and any special enactment applicable to the offence or proceeding.

This prevents a common structural mistake: treating “revision” as a generic name for any challenge to a lower-court order. The petition should state why the order is revisable, why the chosen court has jurisdiction and why no more specific appellate or statutory remedy displaces the proposed route.

Step 2: test whether an appeal lies

For civil revision, Section 115 expressly operates where no appeal lies to the High Court and prevents revision of a decree or order against which an appeal lies either to the High Court or to a subordinate court. The appeal test should therefore be recorded before grounds are drafted. That review may require checking Section 96, Section 104, Order XLIII and any special statute governing the proceeding.

In criminal matters, the same practical discipline is useful even though the statutory structure is different. If the challenged decision has a specific appellate route, the revision petition should not be framed as a substitute for an available appeal. The Appeal Procedure guide explains the separate appellate framework.

Step 3: classify the order as final, intermediate or interlocutory

Classification of the order is central to criminal revision because BNSS Section 438(2) expressly excludes interlocutory orders. The label placed on an order is not enough by itself; the legal effect of the order and the governing authorities may matter. The filing should therefore identify what the order actually decides, whether it finally determines a right or stage, and why the statutory bar does or does not apply.

Civil revision has a different statutory mechanism. Section 115 restricts revisional interference with orders made in the course of a suit or proceeding, and the current central provision links intervention to whether a favorable order would have finally disposed of the suit or proceeding. The civil and criminal tests should not be merged.

Step 4: frame grounds around revisional error

A strong revision petition links each ground to the statutory standard. In a civil revision, the petition may need to show absence of jurisdiction, refusal to exercise jurisdiction, or illegal or materially irregular exercise of jurisdiction. In a criminal revision, the ground should identify the alleged defect in correctness, legality, propriety or procedural regularity and explain why revisional intervention is legally available.

The petition should avoid becoming a second set of trial submissions. Each ground is stronger when it identifies the impugned finding or direction, the part of the lower-court record that matters, the governing provision, and the specific revisional consequence sought.

Step 5: assemble the record before filing

The record should normally include the impugned order, relevant pleadings or applications, replies, material order sheets, documents relied upon, and portions of the lower-court record necessary to understand the challenge. Delhi High Court's published procedure for Civil Revision Petitions states that the filing should include the memorandum of parties, synopsis, list of dates and events, memorandum of revision, grounds, relief, impugned order and affidavit, together with relevant pleadings and order sheets.

For criminal revisions, the Delhi High Court rules include separate provisions for presentation of criminal revision petitions, and the Court's forms page publishes an opening sheet for Criminal Revision. These materials are useful for filing architecture, but the latest practice directions and e-filing requirements should always be checked before submission.

Step 6: determine whether interim relief is required

Filing a revision petition does not necessarily suspend the order challenged. Section 115 CPC specifically states that revision does not operate as a stay unless the High Court stays the suit or proceeding. A civil revision therefore often requires a separately reasoned stay application where continued proceedings or enforcement could defeat the purpose of the revision.

BNSS Section 438 allows the revisional court, when calling for a record, to direct suspension of execution of a sentence or order and to address release on bond or bail in the statutory circumstances. The petitioner should state the immediate prejudice alleged, the interim order requested, and why that relief is necessary pending revisional examination.

Information-gain framework: appeal, revision, review and writ

Route	Core question	Typical focus
Appeal	Does a statute create an appellate right from this decision?	Appellate reconsideration within the scope given by the statute
Revision	Does the law confer supervisory revisional jurisdiction over this order?	Jurisdiction, legality, propriety, regularity or another defined revisional standard
Review	Can the same court reconsider its own decision under the applicable review power?	Narrow grounds prescribed by the governing law
Writ / supervisory jurisdiction	Is constitutional or supervisory jurisdiction independently available?	Public-law, jurisdictional or supervisory grounds subject to constitutional doctrine

These routes can overlap conceptually but are not interchangeable labels. The correct filing depends on the source of jurisdiction and the relief legally available.

Delhi High Court filing context

Delhi High Court publishes separate court-rule material for “appeals and revisions — civil” and “appeal and revision — criminal.” It also publishes a dedicated procedural document for Civil Revision Petitions. That document identifies the core filing set and states that replies are ordinarily filed when specifically directed by the Court. For criminal revision, the published rules describe presentation of revision petitions and require the appellant or petitioner to state that no previous appeal or revision application in the same matter has been filed.

Because filing-counter practice, e-filing fields, forms and practice directions can change, these court-specific materials should be checked at the time of filing rather than copied into a static checklist without verification.

Revision readiness checklist

Checkpoint	Question to resolve
Source of power	Which exact provision gives the selected court revisional jurisdiction?
Appeal test	Does an appeal lie from the same decision?
Order classification	Is the order final, intermediate or interlocutory for the applicable statutory test?
Ground	What jurisdictional, legal, propriety or procedural error is alleged?
Record	Which pleadings, orders and documents are necessary to establish the ground?
Forum choice	For criminal revision, has the petitioner chosen between Sessions and High Court consistently with BNSS Section 438(3)?
Interim relief	Is a stay, suspension or bail-related order separately required?

Information only

This guide explains general revisional procedure and does not determine whether a particular order is revisable, whether it is interlocutory, whether an appeal lies, whether limitation has expired, or whether a revisional court should interfere. Those questions depend on the governing statute, the exact order, the record and current court rules. Verify the current official sources and obtain case-specific professional advice before acting.

Official sources

Related guides

See Appeal Procedure for statutory appellate routes, Civil Case Procedure for the civil-trial pathway, Criminal Case Procedure for the criminal-trial pathway, and Writ Petition Procedure for constitutional and supervisory proceedings. The next procedure guide will address Special Leave Petitions separately because Article 136 jurisdiction is distinct from ordinary appeal or revision.