Appeal in Criminal Cases

Appeal in Criminal Cases

Introduction:

The criminal justice system may have substantial negative impacts on a person's life, 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.

?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.

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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 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 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.

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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 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.

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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.

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Kinds of Appeal

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Section 373 CrPC – Appeal in court of session

If a person receives a bond to keep the peace or for good behaviour, the order can be appealed to the Court of Appeal under section 117.

When a person is wronged. with an order refusing to accept or reject the guarantee, the person can apply for compensation under section 121.

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Section 374 CrPC – Appeal from convictions

·????????High Court orders of?conviction ?issued while exercising original criminal jurisdiction have the right to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

·????????Conviction orders issued by the Court of Session or Additional Court of Session are appealable to the High Court.

·????????If the Court of Session or the Additional Court of Session imposes a sentence of more than seven years in prison, the defendant may appeal the decision to the High Court.

·????????Appeals may be taken to the Court of Session from convictions handed down by the Metropolitan Magistrate, Judicial Magistrate I, or Judicial Magistrate II.

·????????The court of session hears appeals from anyone who is dissatisfied with the results of a criminal proceeding under Sections?325 ?and?360 ?of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Exception to Section 374

The exceptions to Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code are found in Sections 375 and 376 of the CrPC as given below:

·????????There is no right to appeal a conviction where the defendant has made a guilty plea and been found guilty on the basis of that plea.

·????????A person who has been found guilty and sentenced by a high court to a period of imprisonment of not more than six months or a fine of not more than one thousand rupees, or to both such imprisonment and fine, shall not be permitted to file an appeal against that sentence.

·????????A person who has been found guilty and sentenced by a court of the session or a metropolitan magistrate to a period of imprisonment of not more than three months or a fine of not more than two hundred rupees, or to both such imprisonment and fine, shall not be permitted to file an appeal against that sentence.

·????????A person who has been fined by a first-class magistrate of not more than one hundred rupees shall not be permitted to file an appeal against that sentence.

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Section 377 and 378 CrPC – State appeals

State government appeals:

ü?Under Section 377, to increase the severity of a punishment;

ü?Under Section 378, to overturn an acquittal of an accused person

Section 377 CrPC – Appeal against sentence

The State Government can appeal the judgment to the Court of Session or the Court of Appeal on the ground that it is not sufficient under this clause, which can be done through the Attorney General.

If someone disagrees with the judge's decision, he has the right to appeal to the administrative court.?If the lower court makes a decision, it can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

When the investigation is conducted by the Delhi Special Police Agency or any other central agency, the central government issues an order to the public prosecutor.

Defendants are expected to receive a fair trial before an appeal or decision to increase their sentence.

Section 378 CrPC – Appeal in case of acquittal

If a judge makes an acquittal in a case involving a cognizable and a non-cognizable offence, the district judge can order the?prosecutor to appeal the decision to the Sessions Court. If the acquittal decision is made by a court other than the Supreme Court, the state can still request a review of the decision by appealing to that court.

If the investigation was conducted by the Delhi Special Police Agency or any other government agency, the Central Government will issue instructions for filing a complaint.

It is worth mentioning that the permission of the Supreme Court is requested before filing an appeal there.

If the Supreme Court grants special leave to appeal, the appeal may be filed if the case initiated on the basis of the appeal is later dismissed. An acquitted civil servant may file a new application within six months of being acquitted.

The request can be submitted within 60 days of the acquittal decision, if the applicant is not a public official. An acquittal cannot be appealed if the appeal is dismissed.

Section 379 CrPC- Appeal against conviction by High Court in certain cases:

If the Supreme Court's acquittal?is overturned and he is subsequently?sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or at least 10 years in prison,?the accused may appeal to the Supreme Court.

Section 380 CrPC- Special right of appeal in certain cases

If a co-defendant has received an?appealable ?sentence, then the other defendant has the right to appeal his own non-appealable punishment under this provision.

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Non-appealable cases

Section 375 CrPC- Certain guilty pleas are non-appealable

No appeal shall lie if the defendant enters a plea of guilty before the high court and the court records such a plea and finds the defendant guilty.

If the accused enters a guilty plea in a lower court, an appeal of the sentence may be made to the high court.

There is a right to appeal a sentence based on:

ü?The totality of the punishment.

ü?The sentencing process was followed per the law.

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Section 376 CrPC- No appeal in petty cases

Petty ?misdemeanours shall not be subject to appeal. The procedures for handling petty matters vary by jurisdiction. The following are examples of minor offences:

·????????In the instance of the High Court, the possible penalties include either imprisonment for up to 6 months or a fine of up to Rs 1000, or both.

·????????Up to three months in jail time, a Rs. 200 fine, or both if found guilty in court of session.

·????????Up to 3 months in jail, or a fine of Rs. 200, whichever is greater, if prosecuted by a metropolitan magistrate.

·????????There is a Rs 100 fine if you are caught breaking a law in front of a judicial magistrate.

·????????Up to Rs. 200 in the instance of a Magistrate authorised under?Section 260 ?of the Criminal Procedure Code.

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