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NAME : SAIMA KHAN

CLASS : 3/3 SEM (V)

SUBJECT : PROJECT CRPC

: APPEAL
: ACQUITTL
 Introduction:
The criminal justice system may have substantial negative impacts on a person's life,
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especially with regard to their right to life and freedom. As courts, like any other human-

made institution, are prone to error, it follows that their rulings are likewise susceptible

to this danger of error. There should be systems in place to carefully evaluate the
decisions of inferior courts in order to avoid a major miscarriage of justice. This has led

to certain adjustments being made to the criminal procedure for appealing a criminal
court's decision or order. There are specific conditions for appeals in the Criminal

Process Code, which are found from Section 372 through Section 394.
However, the appeal option is not always available. Therefore, even in cases where the

right of appeal is limited by the Cr P C, legislators integrate the concept of a review

procedure called review into the legislative process to fully prevent any abuse. The

review powers of the superior courts and their exercise are set out in sections 397 to

405. These powers are broad and temporary and must be considered.
2

Although litigants are guaranteed the opportunity to appeal in most cases, criminal

courts have broad discretion to decide whether or not to review a case, so review is not

a guaranteed legal right. By law, the accused has at least one right of appeal in criminal
cases, but no right of appeal in an appellate situation. The difference between an appeal

and an amendment has been repeatedly examined in court. According to the judgment

of the Supreme Court in the case of Hari Shankar Vs. Rao Ghari Chowdhury (1963) "the

distinction between appeal and review is real. Unless the appellate statute provides
otherwise, an appellate hearing involves a review. of both law and fact. In most cases, a

higher court has the power to review a previous decision to ensure that the original

decision was made according to the law.

 What is an appeal under CrPC?
 An appeal can be defined as a complaint made to a higher court with the intent
that the order, finding, sentence passed by the lower court is illegal or erroneous
(wrong, incorrect). The fundamental principles of appeal under CrPC are as follows:
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An appeal is a creature of statute. No inherent right to file an appeal.

Kinds of Appeal Under Criminal Procedure Code

1. Appeal in Court of Session – Section 373 CrPC

An appeal may lie to the Court of Session against the order under:

 Section 117: Where a person has been ordered to give security for keeping the
peace or for good behaviour.
 Section 121: Where a person has been aggrieved by any order refusing to accept or
reject a surety.

2. Appeal From Convictions – Section 374 CrPC

1. While exercising extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction, if High Court passes an

order of conviction, an appeal shall lie to Supreme Court.

2. If Court of Session or Additional Court of Session passes the order of conviction

during the trial, an appeal shall lie to High Court.

3. If Court of Session or Additional Court of Session gives punishment of more than

seven years, the appeal shall lie to High Court.

4
 4. Where a person is convicted by Assistant Court of Session, Metropolitan Magistrate
Judicial Magistrate I, Judicial Magistrate II, an appeal shall lie to Court of Session.

5. A person aggrieved under section 325, 360 of the Criminal Procedure Code can
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appeal to the Court of Session.

Exception to Section 374 CrPC

Section 375 and section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code are exceptions to sections
374 of the Criminal Procedure Code, elaborated as follows.

Section 375 CrPC – No Appeal in Certain Cases Where the Accused Pleads Guilty

If the accused pleads guilty at High Court and the court takes the plea on record and
convicts the person, then no appeal shall lie.

Where the accused pleads guilty at a court other than High Court, an appeal for the
sentence is allowed.
Appeal on sentence is allowed based on:
1. Extent.
2. Legality of the sentence.

Section 376 CrPC – No Appeal in Case of Petty Cases

No appeal shall lie in the case of petty cases. Petty cases differ from court to court.
Following are considered petty cases:

 In case of High Court- Imprisonment up to 6 months, fine of Rs 1000 or both.

 In case of Court of Session- Imprisonment up to 3 months, fine of Rs 200 or both.
 In case of Metropolitan Magistrate- Imprisonment up to 3 months, fine of Rs 200 or
both.
 In case of Judicial Magistrate I- Fine of Rs 100.
  In case of Magistrate empowered under section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code-
Fine up to Rs 200.

3. State Appeals Under Sections 377 and 378 of CrPC

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Appeals by the State Government:

 For enhancement of sentence – Section 377

 Against the acquittal of accused – Section 378

Section 377 CrPC – Appeal Against Sentence

The section empowers the State Government to file an appeal through a Public
Prosecutor at the Court of Session or High Court on the grounds of insufficiency of the
sentence:

o If an order of sentence is given by Magistrate, then appeal to lie to Court of

Session.
o If an order of sentence is given by any other court, then appeal to lie to High Court.

The direction will be given to the Public Prosecutor by the central government if the
investigation is done by Delhi Special Police Establishment or any other central agency.

When such appeal or order for enhancement of punishment is filed, such order will not
be passed until a reasonable opportunity of being heard is given to the accused

Section 378 CrPC – Appeal in Case of Acquittal

In this section, District Magistrate is empowered to direct the Public Prosecutor to file an
appeal to the Court of Session for the order of acquittal done by any Magistrate in a
matter of cognizable and non-bailable offence.
 The State is also empowered to direct the Public Prosecutor to file an appeal for the
order acquittal done by any court other than High Court for appeal or revision.

If the investigation is done by Delhi Special Police Establishment or any central agency,
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the direction to file an appeal will be given by the Central Government.

It is to be noted that prior permission of the High Court will be taken before filing an
appeal at the High Court.

If an order of acquittal is given in a matter of case instituted on complaint, and High

Court grants special permission to present the appeal, then such appeal can be
presented by the complaint.

 If the complainant is a government servant, then the application can

o be moved within six months from the order of acquittal.
o If the complainant is not a government servant, then the application can be moved
within 60 days from the order of acquittal.

If such appeal is rejected, no appeal from an order of acquittal shall lie.

4. Appeal Against Conviction by High Court in Certain Cases – Section 379 CrPC

If the High Court reversed an order of acquittal of a person and convicted him and
sentenced him to death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a period of ten years or
more, the accused has the right to make an appeal to the Supreme Court.

5. Special Right of Appeal in Certain Cases – Section 380 CrPC

Under this section, an accused has a right of appeal in an unappealable sentence if his
co-accused has been given an appealable sentence.
 Appeal under criminal law

Although the term "appeal" is not defined in the Criminal Procedure Act 1973, it can be

understood as a review of a decision of a lower court by a higher court. It must be

Page | 7 emphasized that the decision or order of the criminal court cannot be appealed

otherwise than according to the legislative procedure defined in the Criminal Procedure

Act 1973 or other applicable law. This means that even the original complaint is barred;

thus, there is no "vested right" to appeal. This principle is based on the assumption that
the courts dealing with the case dealt with the test fairly. However, in the case of

acquittal, the commission of a lesser crime, or the payment of insufficient compensation,

the victim can appeal the decision of the court. Appeals in Sessions Courts and High

Courts are usually governed by the same rules and procedures. The Supreme Court is
the state's highest appellate court and has greater jurisdiction over matters where an

appeal is allowed. As the highest appellate court of the Supreme Court, the Supreme

Court has supreme discretion and absolute authority in all appeals. The powers of the

Supreme Court are largely determined by the Constitution of India and the Supreme
Court (Extension of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Regulations, 1970. If the Supreme

Court overturns the acquittal and sentences the accused to life imprisonment, 10 years

imprisonment or death, the defendant has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Article 13 (1) of the Constitution of India establishes the same law for the Court of
Appeal of the Supreme Court and recognizes the importance of criminal appeals before

that court. Under Article 13 (2) of the Constitution of India, the parliament also passed

the Supreme Court (Extension of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970, which

empowers the Supreme Court to hear appeals from the Supreme Court in certain cases.
If there were several defendants at the trial and the court made a verdict for all of them,

each defendant has the same right to appeal the decision. However, the right to appeal

may be waived under certain conditions. These rules are found in sections 265G, 375

and 376. The Criminal Procedure Act 1973 provides that judgments and orders cannot
 be appealed, except in certain circumstances. This indicates the critical status of

complaints.

The accused may appeal to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court or the Court of
Page | 8 Sessions, depending on the nature of the case. According to the judgment of the

Supreme Court in the case of Arun Kumar Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (1989), the

Allahabad High Court set aside the acquittal of the Sessions Judge and convicted the

appellants, finding that the opinion of the Sessions Judge was clearly erroneous and
aiding and abetting. into a miscarriage of justice. In Satya Pal Singh v State of Madhya

Pradesh (2015), the Supreme Court of India ruled that the next of kin of a victim has the

right to appeal to a higher court under the provisions of Article 372, provided that the

father of the deceased victim meets the definition of a victim. A victim needs leave of
the Supreme Court to appeal against acquittal, as the Supreme Court held in Satya Pal

Singh Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh. These are the cornerstones of the CrPC complaint

process:

· The right to appeal must be established by law.

· No automatic right to seek an appeal.

· No appeal only against conviction.

· Petty cases are final and cannot be appealed.

· A plea of guilt results in an automatic conviction; there is no right of appeal.

Who can Appeal:

A person who has been judicially convicted can appeal the sentence. Filing an appeal
does not mean that the matter will be reconsidered. Issues raised in the court record are

used for appeal. The court may hear new evidence from the applicant if the

circumstances require it. To prove this, the court must submit witnesses detailing their
 prepared statements for the new trial. It is the applicant's duty to convince the court

that:

· claims that the jury’s judgement should be overturned because it was arbitrary or
Page | 9 not supported by the evidence,

· the judge made an error in interpreting the law, or

· there was a miscarriage of justice.

When an appeal is filed, the court can do almost anything. The court can confirm the
decision, cancel the decision, replace the acquittal or order a new trial. Even if the court

rules in favor of the appellant due to a technicality of the law, it may still decide to

dismiss the appeal if it finds that no serious error has occurred. The head of the

prosecution can also file a complaint with the appellate court and request that the
appellate court overturn the acquittal and re-examine the case or appeal the provisional

decision.

Subsequent appeals
A person convicted in court may file a second or subsequent appeal with the permission

of the Court of Appeal. The person applying for leave to appeal must demonstrate to

the court that there is new and convincing evidence that must be taken into account. If

the court finds that there has been a material error in sentencing, it can hear a new
appeal, overturn the conviction and replace the acquittal, or order a new trial.

Important judgements

Jogi v. the State Of Madhya Pradesh (2021)

When hearing a substantive appeal under Section 374 of the Code of

Criminal Procedure of 1973, the High Court must conduct its own analysis of
 the evidence and draw its own conclusions about the accused’s guilt or
innocence based on its own evaluation of the evidence in the record.

Page | 10 Dilip S. Dahanukar v. Kotak Mahindra Company Limited (2007)

An offender who has been convicted has the unalienable right to exercise his
or her appeal under the provisions of Section 374 of the Code. In light
of Article 21‘s broad definition, the ability to appeal a conviction that has an
impact on one’s freedom is likewise a basic right. Therefore, the right of
appeal cannot be limited in any way or subjected to any conditions. The
right to appeal is guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and
Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Bindeshwari Prasad Singh @ B.P v. State Of Bihar (2002)

When dealing with an appeal from an acquittal preferred under Section 374
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the high court has much broader
jurisdiction than a revisional court exercising jurisdiction under Section 401
of the Code of Criminal Procedure against an order of acquittal at the
instance of a private party. All arguments that can be made in favour of the
petition for revision can also be made in the appeal, but not the other way
around. When the state’s appeal against the verdict of acquittal is denied,
the verdict of the lower court becomes final. To thereafter exercise revisional
jurisdiction under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the
order of acquittal at the instance of a private party might not be a proper
exercise of discretion in such a scenario.

Appellate court

The jurisdiction of an appellate court is laid out in detail under Section

386 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Although the appellate court has the
 jurisdiction to dismiss an appeal summarily, it will only do so if the appeal
has not been dismissed under Section 384. In accordance with Section 386
of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Appellate Court may dismiss the appeal

Page | 11 if it finds that there is insufficient cause for interfering with the order under
appeal.

If the appellate court hasn’t already ruled out the appeal for the reasons
stated, it might:

1. Reverse the lower court’s acquittal decision and remand the matter
for further investigation, a new trial, or commitment, as
appropriate; or find the defendant guilty and impose the appropriate
punishment;

2. Reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the

accused, or order him to be retried by a Court of competent
jurisdiction subordinate to such Appellate Court, or commit him for
trial, or alter the finding, maintaining the sentence, or with or
without altering the finding, alter the nature or the extent, or the
nature and extent of the sentence, but not so as to enhance the
same in an appeal from a conviction;

3. Reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the

accused or order him to be retried by a Court competent to try the
offence; Alter the finding maintaining the sentence; Alter the
nature, the extent, or both, of the sentence, so as to enhance or
reduce the same; With or without altering the finding, alter the
nature, the extent, or both;

4. Modification or reversal of any prior order pending appeal;

 5. Make any adjustment or order that is necessary or appropriate to
the punishment; Provided, however, that the sentence shall not be
increased unless the accused has been given a chance to show

Page | 12 cause against such increase.

Further, the Appellate Court shall not impose on the defendant a greater
penalty than that imposed by the court that issued the order or sentence
that is the subject of the appeal. Regarding an appeal that has arisen from
an order of conviction, Section 386(b) provides the Appellate Court with
extensive powers, and the Appellate Court has the authority to even acquit a
person who has been found guilty of an offence by the trial court.

According to Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a person who has
been convicted has the right to appeal their case, and the Appellate Court
has the authority to, while the appeal is pending, order that the execution of
the sentence or order that is being appealed against be suspended, and also,
if the person is in confinement, that they be released on bail or on their own
bond.

Conclusion

An appeal does not result in a new trial. In order to evaluate whether there
are sufficient grounds to grant the appeal, the appellate court instead
reviews the record of the lower court’s proceedings. A complete transcript of
the trial as well as all pre and post-trial motions are included in the record.
Appellate courts don’t just look at the evidence presented in the trial; they
also read the briefs the parties submit. Appellate briefs provide context for
the arguments made in an appeal and lay out the relevant legal issues at
stake. Since it was created by legislation, the appellate court’s authority and
jurisdiction must be defined within the confines of the law. At the same time,
an appeals court is a “court of error,” the purpose of which is to revise the
 lower court’s ruling if it was incorrect, and its jurisdiction should be identical
to that of the lower court. It should not and cannot perform an action that
the lower court lacked jurisdiction to execute. Similarly, in circumstances

Page | 13 where the trial for conviction was not held in the High Court, the State
Government has the authority to direct the Public Prosecutor to file an
appeal against the sentence on the grounds of inadequacy with either the
session’s court or the High Court. Neither the victims nor the complainants
nor anybody else has been afforded the opportunity to file an appeal
challenging their sentences on the grounds that they are inadequate. In
addition, the court must provide the defendant with a fair opportunity to
present arguments against any proposed sentence enhancement. The
defendant has the right to show cause in order to be exonerated or have his
sentence reduced
 What mean by Acuittal:

Introduction
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The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is the main legislation that deals with
and lists out how the procedure of substantial criminal law is to proceed in
India. Section 232 of the said code defines acquittal and its other provisions
that delve into minutiae of orders of acquittal. In simple terms, acquittal
means that the case has come to an end and the accused is not guilty of the
charges pressed on him/her. There was no substantial evidence that
indicated the accused to be guilty of committing an offence, and due to this
reason, he shall be acquitted. It is not to be confused with discharge, since
in discharge, the accused may be asked to show up again for further
questioning.

Meaning of acquittal

Acquittal in general terms means that the accused is innocent and has not
committed the offence he/she was accused of. The decision of acquittal is
given by the judge after inspecting all the evidence and hearing arguments
of the defence and the prosecution. It implies that no evidence has been
brought up to prove that the accused has carried out an offence as per the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Relevant provisions under CrPC

Section 232- Acquittal

If the Judge, after examining the evidence and arguments by the

prosecution and defense, is of the opinion that the accused is not guilty of
 the offence as he/she believes there is no evidence backing the blame, an
order of acquittal shall be given.

Page | 15 Section 233- Entering upon defense

In case the accused is not acquitted as per Section 232, he/she is called to
present any evidence as his/her defence to counter the accusation as
per this section. The judge shall file a written statement submitted by the
accused on record as well. If the accused demands the presentation of any
person as a witness or the production of a thing or document as evidence,
the judge has to take it into account and issue such a process, unless, the
judge is of the opinion that these are mere tactics to cause a delay in the
conclusion of the case.

Section 235- Judgment of acquittal or conviction

Section 235 states that after hearing out the arguments and points of law of
the case, the judge shall deliver his/her decision. In case of conviction of the
accused, the judge shall hear the accused on the question of sentence and
pass it out according to law, unless the judge has followed provisions
of Section 360 which deals with the release of the convict on probation due
to good conduct or after admonition.

Section 248(1)- Acquittal by a magistrate

This section states that if the Magistrate finds the accused not guilty of any
offence under this chapter, he/she shall order a sentence of acquittal.

Section 256- Non-appearance or death of the complainant

 As per Section 256, if a date has been allotted on the basis of the complaint
and on the said date for the appearance of the accused, or any other day to
which the case might be adjourned to, the complainant is absent, the

Page | 16 Magistrate is entitled to acquit the accused unless he/she is of the opinion
that it might be proper to adjourn the hearing of the case to some other
date.

However, if the Magistrate thinks that the appearance of the complainant is

not necessary or he/she is being represented by a pleader or the officer
conducting the prosecution, the accused is not entitled to acquittal. This
provision shall also be applicable where the absence of the complainant is
due to his/her death.

Section 300- A person already acquitted/ convicted cannot be tried for the same offence twice

Section 300 states that a person who has been tried by a court of competent
jurisdiction and has been acquitted/convicted thereby cannot be tried for the
same offense again, or for a different offence while the facts remain the
same while such acquittal/conviction is in force. It is based on the principle
of “autrefois acquit” and double jeopardy.

However, with the consent of the State Government, a person acquitted/

convicted for an offense may be tried for another charge against him/her
made at the former trial as per Section 220(1). According to Section
220(1) of the Code, if in the commission of any crime as per this Code, more
than one offence is committed, the person responsible for such commission
shall be liable to be tried for every offence in the same trial.

If the Court handing out the sentence of acquittal/conviction did not have
competent jurisdiction over such a case, the person may be subsequently
 tried for another offence other than the one he/she has already been
acquitted/convicted of.

Page | 17 A person discharged as per Section 258 shall not be tried for an offence
he/she has already been tried for except with the consent of the Court
responsible for such discharge or the consent of any other Court to which
this Court is subordinate.

The provisions of Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, or Section

188 of this Code are to be unaffected by the provisions of this section since
the dismissal of a complaint or discharge of the accused is not equivalent to
the acquittal of the accused.

A is a servant who is tried for the offence of theft and acquitted. He cannot
be tried for the offence of theft again while the acquittal remains in force,
provided that the facts are still the same.

Section 378- Appeal in cases of acquittal

The state government is entitled to direct the Public Prosecutor to present

an appeal in the High Court from an order of acquittal (original or appellate)
passed by the Court of Session of any court other than the High Court. This
is subject to the following conditions-

 Such an appeal shall be entertained only when the High Court

grants leave.

 In response to an application made by the complainant for grant of

special leave by the High Court from an order of acquittal, the
complainant can present it to the High Court. However, no such
application shall be entertained after the expiry of a period of six
 months for a public servant, or the expiry of sixty days for other
cases (calculated from the date of acquittal).
It is important to note that if an application to the High Court for grant of

Page | 18 special leave is denied, no appeal from that order shall lie.

If the order of acquittal is passed in a case for which the offense was
investigated by the Delhi Special Police Establishment or by any other
agency which is empowered by any Central Act (other than the said Code) to
carry out the investigation, the Central Government is entitled to direct the
Public Prosecutor to present an appeal to the High Court from the order of
acquittal, provided that, the leave from the High Court has been granted.

Landmark Judgments

Mallikarjun Kodagali v. State of Karnataka

In this case, on December 30, 2009, the Parliament had amended Section
372 of the CrPC so that it now allows the victim to file an appeal against any
order passed by the Court, if according to the victim, the accused was
wrongly acquitted, or convicted less stringent, or he/she feels that the
compensation has been inadequate.

The legal representatives of Mallikarjun Kodagali had filed an appeal at the

Karnataka High Court on behalf of Mr. Kodagali who was deceased. The
appeal referred to a judgment by the High Court upholding a decision to
acquit an MLA and others alleged to have attacked Kodagali in Bagalkot. The
High Court had dismissed the appeal as the death of Kodagali made the
appeal unmaintainable.
 The issue was whether the petitioner should get the benefits of the said
amended provision of CrPC as when the initial judgment was given, no such
provision was in force.

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Justice M B Lokur while giving out the majority decision said that Section
372 of CrPC which deals with appeals in respect to acquittal orders should be
given a “realistic, liberal, progressive” interpretation so as to benefit the
victim. He further referred to a resolution by the United Nations General
Assembly which held that the victim besides the state shall also be entitled
to present an appeal against the acquittal of the accused.

This was a landmark judgment which recognized the victim’s right to appeal
and ruled that the victim can file for an appeal in case he/she is of the belief
that proper sentence has not been given.

Champalal Kapoorchand Jain v. Navyug Cloth Stores

Out of 31 dates for a hearing of the case, the complainant was absent on 11
occasions. On the 31st occasion as well, the complainant and his advocate
were not present and the judge concluded the case and gave out the
decision.

The Metropolitan Magistrate gave out an order of acquittal to the respondent

(who was the accused in the case) due to the absence of the complainant.

The complainant along with his advocate then went on to file an appeal
stating that the advocate had misheard the upcoming date which was the
reason for their absence and challenged the order of the metropolitan
magistrate.
 The Court observed that as per the provisions of Section 256, the
complainant must be present on every date of the hearing unless his
presence is deemed to be unnecessary by the magistrate, which wasn’t so in

Page | 20 this case. The magistrate had already accused 11 disappearances already.
This provision gives the Magistrate wide powers. He must ensure that the
accused gets his right to a speedy trial as the case cannot go on for
perpetuity.

The court did not find any substance in the pleas and dismissed the appeal
consequently.

Conclusion

The acquittal procedure is necessary to ensure that nobody is punished for

an offence they did not commit. Further modifications have also given the
victim, in addition to the state, to file for appeals in courts if they feel that
the accused has been wrongly acquitted. This measure is an essential
safeguard to the acquittal procedure and is the crux of one of the
fundamental principles of criminal law and the Code of Criminal Procedure.