Legal Provisions of Section 456 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.), India.
The provisions of this section embody the principle of civil law that a person in peaceful possession of land should be protected against unlawful intruders who have dispossessed him by the use of physical force.
The powers under this section can be exercised where the following conditions are satisfied:—
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(i) The accused must be convicted of an offence in which criminal force has been used or there was show of such force or criminal intimidation; and
(ii) The Court must be of the opinion that the accused has dispossessed such person of his immovable property by the show of such force or criminal intimidation.
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Thus the section seeks to prevent any person from gaining wrongful possession of land or other immovable property by forcible and unlawful acts. It, therefore, follows that the essential pre-requisite for the applicability of this section is that the offence of which the person is convicted must have been attended by criminal force or show of intimidation.
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It is further significant to note that the criminal force referred to in this section must be with reference to person and not to property. Thus where a person is dispossessed of his land in his absence by unlawful and forcible entry of the accused, the provisions of this section cannot be invoked.
However, when the person who was initially in possession of it returns and protests against the unlawful dispossession and the accused uses criminal force or intimidates or threatens the person, then in that case the provisions of this section would be applicable.
The power to restore possession under this section i.e. Section 456, vests in the competent Court alone and the police cannot on its own deliver the possession of the premises to the complainant when it was in possession of the accused.
The Court may order restoration of the property to serve the ends of justice. It may also pass any interim order as it deems fit and necessary keeping in view the circumstances of the case. But the order under Section 456 must be passed by the Court within one month from the date of conviction of the accused, who was charged of the offence contemplated by this section.
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However, there is no time limit set out for appeal, against the orders passed under Section 456 in a Court of Appeal or in a Revision Court which may confirm the order of the lower Court or may revise amend, alter or amend it.