X is tried and convicted by a court of session under Section 376 I.P.C. for the offence of rape. X prefers an appeal in the High Court against the order… Consequently, the High Court discharges the accused. Is the order of discharge passed by the High Court legal?

Question: X is tried and convicted by a court of session under Section 376 I.P.C. for the offence of rape. X prefers an appeal in the High Court against the order of conviction passed by the Sessions Judge. On appeal, the High Court is satisfied that there is no sufficient material to convict accused X. Consequently, the High Court discharges the accused. Is the order of discharge passed by the High Court legal? Give the relevant provision of Cr. P.C. in this regard, if any, and also refer to the case law on the point, if any.

Find the answer only on Legal Bites. [X is tried and convicted by a court of session under Section 376 I.P.C. for the offence of rape. X prefers an appeal in the High Court against the order… Consequently, the High Court discharges the accused. Is the order of discharge passed by the High Court legal?]

Answer

An appeal is the creation of a statue. There can be chances that sometimes errors can occur in the decision or a judgment. Appeal gives an opportunity to the Superior Court to rectify the error committed by an inferior court.

Section 374 in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 lays down provisions regarding Appeals from convictions. The sub-section (2) of the provision states that: “Any person convicted on 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 has been passed against him or against any other person convicted at the same trial], may appeal to the High Court.”

Further, Section 386, which deals with the Powers of the Appellate Court, provides that:

“After perusing such record and hearing the appellant or his pleader, if he appears, and the Public Prosecutor, if he appears, and in case of an appeal under section 377 or section 378, the accused, if he appears, the Appellate Court may, if it considers that there is no sufficient ground for interfering, dismiss the appeal, or may:

1. in an appeal from a conviction
2. reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the accused, or order him to be re-tried by a Court of competent jurisdiction subordinate to such Appellate Court or committed for trial, or
3. alter the finding, maintaining the sentence, or
4. 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”

The Court of appeal possesses full power to go into the entire evidence and all relevant circumstances to arrive at its own conclusion about the guilt or the innocence of the accused bearing in mind, however, that (1) there is the initial presumption of innocence of an accused and (2) the fact of his acquittal by the trial Court.

The Code gives ample powers to the Courts to alter or amend a charge, whether by the trial Court or by the appellate Court, provided that the accused is not to face a charge for a new offence or is not prejudiced either by keeping him in the dark about the charge or in not giving a full opportunity of meeting it and putting forward any defence open to him, on the charge finally preferred against him.[Kantilal Chandulal Mehta v. State of Maharashtra, 1970 AIR (SC) 359]

Therefore, applying the aforesaid provisions and the observations made by the appellate court to the present case at hand, it is clear that if on appeal, the High Court is satisfied that there is no sufficient material to convict the accused X, the High Court is well within its power to discharge the accused. The order of discharge passed by the High Court is legal in view of section 386 of the code.

---

Important Mains/Long Questions for Judiciary, APO & University Exams

1. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part I: Important Questions
2. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part II: Important Questions
3. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part III: Important Questions
4. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part IV: Important Questions
5. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part V: Important Questions
6. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part VI: Important Questions
7. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part VII: Important Questions
8. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part VIII: Important Questions
9. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part IX: Important Questions
10. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part X: Important Questions
11. CRPC Mains Questions Series Part XI: Important Questions