Justice A Badharudden said that a court has the power of inherent jurisdiction to dispose of a matter if the question of jurisdiction is not raised at the beginning of the trial.
The single-judge relied upon various precedents and on Section 462 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), to hold that when there is no inherent lack of jurisdiction, lack of territorial jurisdiction or ground of irregularity, an order or a sentence awarded by a competent court cannot be set aside unless a prejudice is pleaded and proved.
“It is crystal clear that, when there is no inherent lack of jurisdiction, lack of territorial jurisdiction or ground of irregularity of procedure, an order or a sentence awarded by a competent court could not be set aside unless prejudice is pleaded and proved, which would mean failure of justice. It is also the settled position that the objection regarding the question of territorial jurisdiction must be raised, at the earliest at any rate, before adducing evidence/examination of witnesses in the Court,” the Court said.
Source: Barandbench
