Criminal Procedure - II

(PROJECT REPORT )

Topic – Appeals in case of conviction and acquittal

Submitted to – Submitted by –

Prof. Nidhi Naveen Rana

273/21 , Section E

B.com L.lb Sem 6th

UILS , PU

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance and I am extremely
privileged to have gotten the same along the completion of my project. I have taken efforts in this project.
However, it would not have been possible without the kind help and support of many individuals. I would like to
extend my sincere thanks to them. I am highly indebted to Prof Nidhi , for providing me an opportunity to do the
project work and providing all necessary support and guidance which made me complete the project duly. I am
extremely thankful to him for providing support and guidance. I would also like to express my gratitude to my
parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time frame as well as for their
kind cooperation and encouragement with helped me excel

Naveen Rana

273/21

Section E , Bcom LLb

Sem 6th , UILS

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 INDEX

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………..4

Essentials of appealing cases…………………………………………………………………4

Who can appeal ?.....................................................................................................................5

Types of appeal ……………………………………………………………………………..5-9

1. Appeal from conviction …………………………………………………………………5-6

2. Appeal from acquittal ……………………………………………………………………6-8

3. No appeal………………………………………………………………………………8-9

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………….10

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 Introduction

The term appeal has not been defined anywhere under the Civil Procedure Code(hereinafter mentioned as CPC). It
is defined in Black Law Dictionary – The complaint made to the superior court for the error committed by an inferior
court on whose judgement or decision the court is above to correct the decision or reverse the decisions is called as
an appeal.

The term appeal means the judicial examination by a higher court of the decision of an inferior court. Appeal in
other word means the removal of a cause from an inferior court to superior court for purpose of testing the
soundness of the decision of inferior court. An Appeal in legal parlance is held to mean the removal of a cause from
an inferior or subordinate to superior tribunal or forum in order to test and scrutinize the corrections of impugned
decisions.

In Shankar V. Krishnaji1it was held that, The right of appeal is one of entering a superior court and invoking its
aid and interposition to redress the error of court below. The principle of merger of orders of inferior courts would
not become affected or inapplicable by making any distinction between a petition for revision and appeal.

As per Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908:

1. An appeal shall lie to the High Court for the decision made by the District Court.
2. An appeal lies if the decree is passed ex-parte.
3. If High Court is satisfied that substantial question of law is involved it shall formulate the decisions.
It is to be noted that the second appeal is on the grounds of a substantial question of law not on finding errors of
facts.

ESSENTIALS OF APPEALING CASES

An appeal is a proceeding where a higher forum reconsiders the decision of a lower forum, on questions of law &
fact with jurisdiction to confirm, reverse, modify the decision or remand the matter to the lower forum for fresh
decision in compliance of its directions. The essentials of appealing cases can be narrowed down to 3 elements:

• A decree passed by a judicial/administrative authority;

• An aggrieved person, not necessarily a party to the original proceeding; and
• A reviewing body instituted for the purposes of entertaining such appeals.

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AIR 2002 SC 201

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 WHO CAN APPEAL

• Convicted Persons:
o A person convicted by a High Court can appeal to the Supreme Court [CrPC Section 374(1)].
o A person sentenced to imprisonment for more than seven years by a Sessions Judge or other courts
can appeal to the High Court [CrPC Section 374(2)].
• State government :
o In some cases, the state, through the Public Prosecutor, can appeal an acquittal order or for
enhancement of sentence [CrPC Section 378].
• Persons Affected by Orders:
o Individuals ordered to provide security for keeping peace or good behavior can appeal such orders
[CrPC Section 373].
o People aggrieved by the rejection of a surety for keeping peace or good behavior can also appeal
[CrPC Section 373].

TYPES OF APPEAL

There are three types of appeal –

1- Appeal from conviction
2- Appeal in case of acquittal
3- No appeal

1. APPEAL FROM CONVICTION - —(1) Any person convicted on a trial held by a High Court in its
extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction may appeal to the Supreme Court.
(2) Any person convicted on a trial held by a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge or on a trial
held by any other court in which a sentence of imprisonment for more than seven years 2 [has been passed
against him or against any other person convicted at the same trial], may appeal to the High Court.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2), any person,—
(a) convicted on a trial held by a Metropolitan Magistrate or Assistant Sessions Judge or Magistrate of the
first class, or of the second class, or
(b) sentenced under section 325, or
(c) in respect of whom an order has been made or a sentence has been passed under section 360 by any
Magistrate, may appeal to the Court of Session.
(4) When an appeal has been filed against a sentence passed under section 376, section 376A, section
376AB, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D, section 376DA, section 376DB or section 376E of the

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 Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the appeal shall be disposed of within a period of six months from the date
of filing of such appeal.

Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deals with the right to appeal against convictions in
criminal cases. It outlines which courts a person convicted by a lower court can appeal to. Here's a breakdown:

• Subsection (1):
o If a person is convicted by a High Court exercising its extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction
(meaning in a case where it tries a case directly, not through a lower court), they can appeal to the
Supreme Court.
• Subsection (2):
o If a person is convicted by a Sessions Judge (including Additional Sessions Judge) or any other court,
and the sentence is imprisonment for more than seven years (or if someone else convicted in the same
trial receives such a sentence), they can appeal to the High Court.

Essentially, Section 374 establishes a two-tier appellate system for convictions:

1. High Courts: They hear appeals from convictions by Sessions Courts and lower courts with sentences
exceeding seven years.
2. Supreme Court: It hears appeals from convictions by High Courts exercising original criminal jurisdiction.

2. APPEAL IN CASE OF ACQUITTAL – Acc. To section 378 of crpc –

[(1) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2), and subject to the provisions of sub-sections (3) and (5),—
(a) the District Magistrate may, in any case, direct the Public Prosecutor to present an appeal to the Court of
Session from an order of acquittal passed by a Magistrate in respect of a cognizable and non-bailable offence;
(b) the State Government may, in any case, direct the Public Prosecutor to present an appeal to the High Court
from an original or appellate order of acquittal passed by any Court other than a High Court [not being an order
under clause (a)] or an order of acquittal passed by the Court of Session in revision.
(2) If such an order of acquittal is passed in any case in which the offence has been investigated by the Delhi
Special Police Establishment constituted under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (25 of 1946), or
by any other agency empowered to make investigation into an offence under any Central Act other than this Code,
1 [the Central Government may, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), also direct the Public Prosecutor to
present an appeal—
(a) to the Court of Session, from an order of acquittal passed by a Magistrate in respect of a cognizable and non-
bailable offence;
(b) to the High Court from an original or appellate order of an acquittal passed by any Court other than a High
Court [not being an order under clause (a)] or an order of acquittal passed by the Court of Session in revision]
. (3) 2 [No appeal to the High Court] under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be entertained except with the
leave of the High Court.

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 (4) If such an order of acquittal is passed in any case instituted upon complaint and the High Court, on an
application made to it by the complainant in this behalf, grants special leave to appeal from the order of acquittal,
the complainant may present such an appeal to the High Court.
(5) No application under sub-section (4) for the grant of special leave to appeal from an order of acquittal shall be
entertained by the High Court after the expiry of six months, where the complainant is a public servant, and sixty
days in every other case, computed from the date of that order of acquittal.
(6) If, in any case, the application under sub-section (4) for the grant of special leave to appeal from an order of
acquittal is refused, no appeal from that order of acquittal shall lie under sub-section (1) or under sub-section (2).

Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deals with the ability of the prosecution to challenge court
decisions where the accused is acquitted (found not guilty). Normally, an acquittal means the case is over.
However, Section 378 allows the prosecution (usually the police or government lawyer) to appeal the acquittal
under certain conditions.

Who can Appeal and How

The following table summarizes who can appeal under Section 378 and the process:

Who can Appeal

When they can Appeal

Can direct the Public Prosecutor to file an appeal to the

District Court of Session if a lower court acquits the accused in a
Magistrate case involving a serious (cognizable and non-bailable)
offense.

Can authorize the Public Prosecutor to appeal acquittals

to the High Court. This applies to acquittals by any court
except the High Court itself, and also to acquittals upheld
State
in revision by the Court of Session. There are also special
Government
provisions for cases investigated by certain central
agencies. The Central Government can also authorize
appeals in such cases.

Can appeal an acquittal, but this requires special

Complainant
permission from the High Court, and there's a strict time
(rare case)
limit involved:

• 6 months for government officials (complainants who are public servants)

• 60 days for everyone else
• If the High Court rejects the complainant's application for permission to appeal, then no appeal can be filed
under the provisions of Section 378. |

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 In essence, Section 378 allows the prosecution and, in rare cases, the complainant, to challenge acquittals
under certain conditions. However, the process is designed to prevent unnecessary appeals and ensure that
only meritorious cases are reviewed by higher courts.

3. NO APPEAL –

If you plead guilty and are convicted based on that plea, there's generally no right to appeal the conviction itself
(CrPC Section 375). However, you might be able to appeal the extent or legality of the sentence.

Acc. To section 375. No appeal in certain cases when accused pleads guilty.—Notwithstanding anything contained
in section 374, where an accused person has pleaded guilty and has been convicted on such plea, there shall be no
appeal,— (a) if the conviction is by a High Court; or (b) if the conviction is by a Court of Session, Metropolitan
Magistrate or Magistrate of the first or second class, except as to the extent or legality of the sentence.

If you plead guilty and are convicted based solely on that plea, you generally cannot appeal the fact that you were
found guilty (conviction itself). This applies to:

o Convictions by High Courts.

o Convictions by Courts of Session, Metropolitan Magistrates, or Magistrates of the First or Second
Class.

Exception: Challenging the Sentence

Even if you plead guilty, there's one exception where you can appeal:

• You can appeal the "extent or legality" of the sentence. This means you can challenge:
o Whether the sentence itself is too harsh (extent).
o Whether the court had the authority to give you that specific sentence (legality).

Example:

Imagine you plead guilty to theft. The court convicts you and sentences you to five years in prison. You might be
able to appeal this sentence if:

• You believe five years is too long a sentence for the theft (extent).
• You believe the court didn't have the authority to give such a long sentence for this type of theft (legality).

In case of Minor Offenses and Petty Fines: If you're convicted of a minor offense with a sentence of imprisonment not
exceeding one month or a fine not exceeding a specific amount (varies depending on the jurisdiction), you typically
cannot appeal (CrPC Sections 413 & 414).

Acc to Section 376. No appeal in petty cases.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 374, there shall be
no appeal by a convicted person in any of the following cases, namely:—

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(a) where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or of fine not
exceeding one thousand rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;

(b) where a Court of Session or a Metropolitan Magistrate passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three months or of fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;

(c) where a Magistrate of the first class passes only a sentence of fine not exceeding one hundred rupees; or

(d) where, in a case tried summarily, a Magistrate empowered to act under section 260 passes only a sentence of
fine not exceeding two hundred rupees: Provided that an appeal may be brought against such sentence if any other
punishment is combined with it, but such sentence shall not be appealable merely on the ground—

(i) that the person convicted is ordered to furnish security to keep the peace; or

(ii) that a direction for imprisonment in default of payment of fine is included in the sentence; or

(iii) that more than one sentence of fine is passed in the case, if the total amount of fine imposed
does not exceed the amount hereinbefore specified in respect of the case.

Generally, you cannot appeal your conviction if the court imposed only a sentence of:

Court Maximum Sentence for No Appeal

Up to 6 months imprisonment or fine up to

High Court
Rs. 1,000, or both

Court of Session or Up to 3 months imprisonment or fine up to

Metropolitan Magistrate Rs. 200, or both

Magistrate of First Class Fine only, not exceeding Rs. 100

Fine only, not exceeding Rs. 200 (if no

Magistrate (summary trial)
other punishment is included)

Exceptions to No-Appeal Rule

Even if you receive a sentence within the limits mentioned above, you might still be able to appeal if:

• The sentence includes other punishments besides the fine (e.g., ordering you to keep the peace).
• The sentence includes imprisonment in case you fail to pay the fine.
• You receive multiple fines, but the total amount stays within the limits specified for your court.

In essence, Section 376 aims to streamline the justice system for minor offenses by limiting appeals in cases
with relatively light sentences. However, there are exceptions to ensure you have recourse if you face
additional penalties.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• https://blog.ipleaders.in/first-appeals-under-the-code-of-civil-procedure-
1908/#Essentials_of_appealing_cases
• https://www.writinglaw.com/criminal-appeal-and-its-kind-in-crpc/
• https://www.casemine.com/search/in/appeal%20against%20acquittal%20by%20complainant
• https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/current-affairs/state-cannot-invoke-section-372-of-crpc

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