A criminal court has no power to restore a complaint dismissed in default, as the accused stands discharged or acquitted depending on the case being a warrant-case or a summons-case. In order to get the complaint restored, a complainant, poor or rich, has to knock the door of the High Court under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. If a Magistrate has the power to entertain a complaint and decide it on merits after summoning the accused, he should also have power to restore it on good or sufficient cause being shown and re-summon the accused to face the trial on merits.

3.Law Commission recommended in this Report appropriate amendments in sections 249 and 256 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 inserting provisions on the lines of Order IX of the CPC, enabling restoration of complaints.

Source : AMENDMENT OF CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ENABLING RESTORATION OF COMPLAINTS – Report No. 233