“A right of Appeal is not a natural or inherent right. It is a statutory right and must be governed by the statute which grants it.”
An appeal is a legal right conferred upon parties carrying with it a right of rehearing on law as well as fact, unless the statute conferring the right of appeal limits the rehearing.
DEFINITION:
As this articles covers the term appeal with a legal prospective a bare presual of the term Appeal, the definition as a legal proceeding in which the appellant resorts to a higher court for the purpose of obtaining a review of a lower court decision and a reversal of the lower court’s judgment or the granting of a new trial would suffice.
Explaining tersely, the term appeal means to help, an earnest request for aid, support, sympathy, mercy, etc.
However there are various definitions provided to explain the term ‘appeal’ for instance,
Merriam-Webster (dictionary) defines Appeal as a legal proceeding by which a case is brought before a higher court for review of the decision of a lower court.
Whereas as per The Cambridge(dictionary) it is a request made to a court of law or to someone in authority to change a previous decision
And the Macmillan (dictionary) defines appeal as a formal request for a court of law or similar authority to change its decision.
INTRODUCTION:
An appeal is a complaint or grievance to a superior court for reconsideration or review of a decision, verdict or sentence of a lower court. It has been said that every human being is fallible and a judge is not an exception. It is thus possible that even a judge may err or commit mistake and his decision may be wrong or faulty. Article 25 of the Constitution of India guarantees life and liberty to every citizen, small or big, rich or poor, as one of the Fundamental Rights. It is therefore, necessary that a person aggrieved by an order of the court of the first instance may be able to challenge it by preferring an appeal. An appeal is a method of correction of manly error or solution of human frailty.
An individual who’s been convicted of a crime may “appeal” their case, or ask a higher court to review certain aspects of the case for legal error. This isn’t the same as asking for a new trial because the defendant didn’t like the outcome; but rather, an appeal will determine whether the conviction itself or the sentence imposed were reached in error. Therefore, the appellant (the party who’s appealing the verdict) must show a higher court that there were errors in how the trial was conducted. This means no new evidence may be considered.
After a court has convicted and sentenced a criminal defendant, the defendant may file an appeal to a higher court, asking it to review the lower court’s decision for legal errors that may have affected the outcome of the case. If the appellate court grants the appeal, it may reverse the lower court’s decision in whole or in part. If the appellate court denies the appeal, the lower court’s decision stands.
APPEAL IN INDIAN LAW (CRIMINIAL):
The word “appeal” has not been defined in The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; however, it can be described as the judicial examination of a decision, given by a lower court, by a higher court.
It needs to be pointed out that except for the statutory provisions laid down by The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law which is in force, an appeal cannot lie from any judgment or an order of a criminal court. Thus, there is no vested right to appeal as such as even the first appeal will be subjected to statutory limitations. The justification behind this principle is that the courts which try a case are competent enough with the presumption that the trial has been conducted fairly. However, as per the proviso, the victim has a right to appeal against any order passed by the Court under special circumstances comprising of a judgment of acquittal, conviction for lesser offence or inadequate compensation.
Generally, same sets of rules and procedures are employed to govern the appeals in the Sessions Courts and High Courts (highest court of appeal in a state and enjoys more powers in matters where appeal is permissible). The highest court of appeal in the country is the Supreme Court and hence, it enjoys the most extensive discretionary and plenary powers in the cases of appeals. Its powers are largely governed by the provisions laid down in, Indian Constitution, and the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction), 1970.
The accused has been given the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgment of the High Court if the High Court has reversed an order of his acquittal on appeal by convicting him, thereby, sentencing him to imprisonment for life or for ten years or more, or to death. Understanding the relevance of a criminal appeal being made to the Supreme Court, the same law has also been laid down in Article 134(1) of the Indian Constitution under the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970, has also been passed by the legislature in consonance with Article 134(2) of the Indian Constitution to confer additional powers on the Supreme Court to entertain and hear appeals from the High Court under certain conditions.
A similar right to appeal has been granted to one or all accused persons if more than one person have been convicted in a trial and such order has been passed by the court.
However, there are certain circumstances under which no appeal shall lie. These provisions have been laid down under Section 265G, Section 375 and Section 376 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
As to the finality of the judgments and orders passed on appeal, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 makes them final except in some cases. This shows how paramount importance is given to appeals.
CASE LAW FOR APPEAL:
The law provides a person who has been convicted of a crime to appeal to the Supreme Court or the High Court or the Sessions Court as per the circumstances. In the case of Arun Kumar vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, the Honorable Supreme Court held that if the High Court found that the view taken by the Sessions Judge to acquit the appellants was manifestly wrong, moreover, it even led to miscarriage of justice; therefore, the High Court was correct in setting aside this acquittal and convicting them.
In the case of Satya Pal Singh vs State of Madhya Pradesh, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the father of the deceased has a locus standi to present an appeal to the High Court under the proviso of Section 372 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as he falls within the definition of “victim”, to question the correctness of judgment and order of an acquittal of accused.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court held in the similar case of Satya Pal Singh vs State of Madhya Pradesh that the victim cannot file an appeal against an order of acquittal without obtaining the leave of the High Court.
NO APPEAL GROUNDS:
Section 375 and 376 bar appeals in certain cases, though a provision of Revision is maintainable. Thus no appeal shall lie-
- Where a High Court passes a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding six months or fine not exceeding one thousand rupees or both.
- Where a Court of Session or a Metropolitan Magistrate passes a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding three months or fine not exceeding two hundred rupees or both.
- Where a Magistrate of the First Class passes a sentence of fine not exceeding one hundred rupees; or
- Where in a summary case, a Magistrate passes a sentence of fine not exceeding two hundred rupees.
APPEAL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INTEREST OF JUSTICE (CONCLUSION):
An appeal is not a retrial of the case. Rather, the appellate court reviews the record of the lower court’s proceedings to determine whether there are adequate grounds to grant the appeal. The record includes all pre-trial and post-trial motions, all evidence admitted to the court and a word-for-word transcript of the trial. In addition to analyzing the record, appellate courts also review written briefs submitted by each party. Appellate briefs frame the legal issues raised on appeal and set forth persuasive legal arguments to support their position.
It is a creature of statute and the power and jurisdiction of the appellate court must be circumscribed by the words of the statute. At the same time, a court of appeal is a ‘court of error’ and its normal function is to correct the decision appealed from if necessary, and its jurisdiction should be co-extensive with that of the trial court. It cannot and ought not to do something which the trial court was not competent to do.
Similarly, The State Government has been empowered to direct the Public Prosecutor to appeal against the sentence on the grounds of inadequacy to either the session’s court or the High Court, however in only those cases where the trial for conviction has not been held by the High Court. This shows that this right to appeal against sentences on the grounds of inadequacy has not been granted to the victims or the complainants or any other person. Moreover, it is mandatory for the Court to give the accused a reasonable opportunity to show cause against any enhancement of the sentence in the interest of justice. The accused has the right to plead for his acquittal or a reduction in the sentence while showing cause.
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