Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 448
Power of Sessions Judge to transfer cases and appeals
(1) Whenever it is made to appear to a Sessions Judge that an order under this sub-section is expedient for the ends of justice, he may order that any particular case be transferred from one Criminal Court to another Criminal Court in his sessions division.
(2) The Sessions Judge may act either on the report of the lower Court, or on the application of a party interested, or on his own initiative.
(3) The provisions of sub-sections (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (9) of section 447 shall apply in relation to an application to the Sessions Judge for an order under sub-section (1) as they apply in relation to an application to the High Court for an order under sub-section (1) of section 447, except that sub-section (7) of that section shall so apply as if for the word “sum” occurring therein, the words “sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees” were substituted.
Why this exists
Not every transfer request needs to go all the way to the High Court; giving Sessions Judges similar transfer powers within their own sessions division makes the process faster and more accessible for local cases, while still applying the same safeguards against misuse, just with a capped compensation amount reflecting the more localized nature of this power. It reflects section 408 of the earlier CrPC.