Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, may a court alter or review its own judgment after it has signed the judgment or final order disposing of a case?

No. Section 362 provides that, save as otherwise provided by the Code or by any other law for the time being in force, no court, once it has signed its judgment or final order disposing of a case, shall alter or review the same except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error.

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.362 — s.482 — Indian Penal Code, 1860 — s.302 — s.304 Part II — Alteration of a signed judgment — Clerical or arithmetical error — Inherent power — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.362 — Signed judgment — No alteration or review permitted — Held: Once a court has signed its judgment or final order disposing of a case, it is not allowed to alter or review the same except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error. The prohibition rests on the plain and unambigious words of the provision and binds a High Court equally. (¶10) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.362 — Clerical error — Accidental slip, apparent on record — Held further: A clerical or arithmetical error is one occasioned by an accidental slip or omission of the court, representing that which the court never intended to say. It must be apparent on the face of the record and must not depend for its discovery on argument or disputation. (¶16) Indian Penal Code, 1860 — s.302 — s.304 Part II — Conviction converted on a correction application — Review, not correction — Held further: A High Court that has rejected the appellants' contentions and confirmed a conviction under Section 302 cannot afterwards change that entire reasoning and find sudden provocation in the heat of a moment. Converting the conviction to Section 304 Part II by such an order is a review, and the procedure adopted is totally untenable. (¶14, 15) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.482 — s.362 — Inherent power — Cannot do what the Code prohibits — Held further: The inherent power of the court cannot be exercised for doing that which is specifically prohibited by the Code, and the saving in Section 362 does not contemplate it. The impugned order is quashed and set aside and the accused directed to undergo the remaining period of sentence. (¶17, 21)

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