Report No. 40

7. Scope of section 491 widened in 1923.- The scope and ambit of section 491 of the Code was considerably widened by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1923. Instead of only the three High Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, all the High Courts in British India were conferred the power of issuing directions of the nature of habeas corpus. And furthermore, instead of being restricted in territorial extent to the limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Court, the power was made exercisable within the limits of its appellate criminal jurisdiction, i.e., the Province or Provinces over which the High Court had authority.