An Original Petition (OP) under Article 227 of the Constitution is not possible against an appellate order issued by the Court of Session under Section 29 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), but what is possible is a Criminal Revision Petition under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as stated in Kunjumon C K v State of Kerala [ 2024 (6) KHC 45].
The Article 227 of the Constitution should be used only as a measure of superintends of subordinate Courts and Tribunals when an order is capricious or pervasive. Under the guise of exercising the power under Article 227 of the Constitution the High Court cannot be converted itself into an appellate court.
When other statutory remedy of Criminal Revision Petition is available under the D V Act that alone can be used against such order but Original Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution cannot be exercised.
The High Court says an appeal against any order in an application under Section 12 of the DV Act is to be preferred before a court of Sessions under Section 29 of the DV Act. Therefore, when the procedure prescribed for an application under section 12 of the DV Act is as per CrPC and the appeal against any such order is also to the Sessions Court, necessarily, the revisional jurisdiction available under the criminal procedure code has to be available to an aggrieved person.
