Magistrate lacks power to recall a Section 203 dismissal; later summoning order based on that recall is void.

A Magistrate who dismisses a complaint under Section 203 CrPC becomes functus officio and cannot recall that judicial order, because the Code contains no power of review or recall in a subordinate criminal court; that inherent power lies only with the High Court under Section 561-A. The later process issued on the basis of such an impermissible recall was therefore without jurisdiction and void. The application also could not be treated as a fresh complaint, since no new facts were shown to justify a second proceeding.

---

---

Issues: Whether a Magistrate, after dismissing a complaint under Section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908, had jurisdiction to recall that order and proceed further on the same complaint, and whether the subsequent summoning order was valid.

Analysis: The dismissal under Section 203 was a judicial order passed with reasons. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908 contained no provision empowering a subordinate criminal court to review or recall its own final order. The inherent power provision in Section 561-A vested such power only in the High Court. Once the complaint was dismissed, the Magistrate became functus officio. The later proceedings, including the order issuing process, were founded on a recall order that had no legal basis. The application could not be treated as a fresh complaint, as no new facts were shown to justify a second complaint.

Conclusion: The Magistrate had no jurisdiction to recall the dismissal order, and the subsequent summoning order was without jurisdiction and void.

---