An order is the formal expression of any decision by a court that is not a decree. Defined in Section 2(14) of the Code of Civil Procedure, orders cover the vast range of interim, procedural, and final directions a court passes during the life of a case — distinct from the decree, which is the final adjudication of rights in the suit.
Examples of orders include: directions on interim applications (e.g. stay, injunction, production of documents), procedural orders (framing issues, fixing dates, admitting documents), evidence-stage orders (directing cross-examination, calling witnesses), and final orders that are not decrees (dismissing a petition, rejecting a plaint).
The distinction matters for appellate purposes. Under the CPC, most orders are not appealable — only the narrow list in Section 104 and Order XLIII Rule 1 can be directly appealed. For orders not in that list, the remedy (if any) is typically a revision petition under Section 115 CPC or a writ petition.
In criminal practice, orders are the bread and butter: remand orders, bail orders, orders on discharge applications, charge-framing orders, cognizance orders, sentencing orders. Each has its own remedy path — revision to the Sessions Judge or High Court, or a writ / inherent-powers petition to the High Court under Section 528 BNSS (previously Section 482 CrPC).
Most orders are published on eCourts and the relevant HC's portal within 24-48 hours of pronouncement; certified copies are issued by the court's copy branch on application.