Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973) — re-enacted substantially unchanged as Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS, 2023) — preserves the inherent powers of the High Court in criminal matters. It is the statutory source of the HC's authority to quash FIRs, quash criminal proceedings, and pass any order necessary to prevent abuse of process or secure the ends of justice.
**Statutory language.** The provision states, in substance, that nothing in the Code shall be deemed to limit the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary (a) to give effect to any order already passed, (b) to prevent abuse of the process of any court, or (c) to secure the ends of justice.
**Three distinct heads of power.** The provision reads naturally as three separate grants: effectuating prior orders, preventing process-abuse, and securing ends of justice. In practice, the third head ("ends of justice") is the most litigated — it is the source of quashing jurisdiction.
**Quashing jurisprudence.** The Supreme Court's 1992 judgment in State of Haryana v Bhajan Lal laid down seven categories in which the HC may quash an FIR or proceedings — most commonly invoked: no offence disclosed on the face of the FIR, allegations inherently improbable, mala fide registration, express legal bar to proceedings. Later decisions have refined this framework.
**Transition note.** For offences committed before 1 July 2024, the CrPC continues and quashing petitions cite Section 482. For offences after that date, Section 528 BNSS. The substantive jurisprudence is the same; the section numbering differs. See the full post linked below.