Sessions Judge transfer powers under CrPC distinguish recall before trial and judicial transfer at any stage, with prior approach required for High Court relief.

Section 409 of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits a Sessions Judge to withdraw or recall cases and appeals made over to an Additional Sessions Judge only before trial or hearing begins; that power is administrative and reasons must be recorded under Section 412. Section 408 gives the Sessions Judge an independent judicial power to transfer a case or appeal from one criminal court to another within the sessions division at any stage, including between Additional Sessions Judges, when expedient for the ends of justice. A party seeking transfer under Section 407 before the High Court must first apply to the Sessions Judge and obtain rejection; the High Court remedy is not concurrent.

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Issues: (i) Whether a Sessions Judge can invoke Section 409 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to withdraw or recall cases and appeals already made over to an Additional Sessions Judge before the commencement of trial or hearing; (ii) Whether a Sessions Judge has power under Section 408 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to transfer a case or appeal pending before one Additional Sessions Judge to another Additional Sessions Judge at any stage; and (iii) Whether an application under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before the High Court is maintainable without first moving the Sessions Judge.

Issue (i): Whether a Sessions Judge can invoke Section 409 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to withdraw or recall cases and appeals already made over to an Additional Sessions Judge before the commencement of trial or hearing.

Analysis: The statutory scheme distinguishes between the administrative control involved in making over, withdrawing and recalling matters and the judicial power of transfer. Section 409 empowers the Sessions Judge to withdraw or recall cases or appeals made over to an Additional Sessions Judge only before trial or hearing has commenced. That power is administrative in character and is intended to facilitate proper distribution of work within the sessions division. An interested litigant may move the Sessions Judge for such withdrawal or recall on grounds of administrative convenience, and reasons must be recorded under Section 412.

Conclusion: Yes. The Sessions Judge can exercise Section 409 before commencement of trial or hearing, and an interested litigant may seek such relief.

Issue (ii): Whether a Sessions Judge has power under Section 408 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to transfer a case or appeal pending before one Additional Sessions Judge to another Additional Sessions Judge at any stage.

Analysis: Section 408 confers an independent judicial power on the Sessions Judge to transfer a particular case from one criminal court to another in the sessions division whenever it is expedient for the ends of justice. The provision is not confined to inferior or subordinate courts in the sense used elsewhere in the Code. Additional Sessions Judges, though not subordinate in the strict sense, function within the sessions division under matters made over by the Sessions Judge and are therefore within the sweep of Section 408. The power may be exercised on the application of an interested party, suo motu, or on a report from the lower court, and it is available even after the commencement of trial or hearing.

Conclusion: Yes. Section 408 authorises transfer at any stage, including between courts of Additional Sessions Judges, if the ends of justice so require.

Issue (iii): Whether an application under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before the High Court is maintainable without first moving the Sessions Judge.

Analysis: The proviso to Section 407(2) bars a party application to the High Court for transfer within the same sessions division unless an application for transfer has first been made to the Sessions Judge and rejected. The remedy before the High Court is therefore not concurrent with the remedy before the Sessions Judge when the request is initiated by an interested litigant. This construction also preserves the intended role of the Sessions Judge under Sections 408 and 409 and avoids unnecessary recourse to the High Court.

Conclusion: No. A party must first approach the Sessions Judge, and only thereafter can Section 407 be invoked before the High Court if the request is rejected.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by recognising the Sessions Judge's administrative power under Section 409 before commencement of trial or hearing, the judicial power under Section 408 to transfer matters at any stage for the ends of justice, and the requirement that the Sessions Judge be approached first before seeking transfer from the High Court under Section 407.

Ratio Decidendi: In a sessions division, the Sessions Judge has an independent power under Section 408 to transfer cases or appeals between criminal courts at any stage for the ends of justice, while Section 409 governs recall or withdrawal only before commencement of trial or hearing, and the High Court's transfer jurisdiction under Section 407 is available to a party only after rejection by the Sessions Judge.

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