Appeals-Sections 372 to 394

A man in Thane is convicted by a Magistrate and sentenced to two years. He is convinced the witnesses lied. Another man is acquitted and the victim's family is shattered. A third has been given only a fine for an offence that looks serious. Can any of them go to a higher court, and which one? In India there is no general right of appeal in criminal cases; each route has to be found in the statute. This topic is the map of those routes.

In two minutes

A criminal appeal exists only where the Sanhita or another law provides one (s.413); the accused appeals against conviction, the State appeals against an inadequate sentence or an acquittal (with leave of the High Court), and the victim has a right to appeal against acquittal, conviction for a lesser offence or inadequate compensation.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Criminal Procedure Code 1973, Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and POCSO Act 2012 on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.