Appeal: A Necessity

Humans are not infallible and thus, each and every institution built by humans is also prone to
fallibility. Despite trying to ensure a free and fair trail and a just decision for all, mistakes are
possible and probable. This applies to the judicial system and the decisions passed by it as well.
Thus, the system of right to appeal and concept of review has been developed by the court. This
fallibility has two basic solutions i.e. either investing in a more foolproof system at the base level
or to create a system of appeals and revision by erecting a hierarchy. Most modern societies have
chosen the late due to its various advantages.

Appeal is a specific provision in place so as to scrutinize the decisions of sub-ordinate courts in

order to reduce the scope of miscarriage of justice. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure elaborate
provisions have been mentioned regarding it under chapter XXIX. Appeals is a ‘process whereby
a litigant disappointed with decision of a first-order tribunal can seek reconsideration be for a
higher tribunal’i. The 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”ii. 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 complaint to a superior court of an injustice done or error committed
by an inferior one, whose judgement or decision the court above is called upon to correct or
reverseiii.

Appeal has been derived from the Latin word ‘appeliato’ which means application or complaint.
Appeal systems can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman Empires. Appeals were a part of
their judicial system. In the ancient Greece during appellate procedures after commission of crime,
when there was criminal amenability, human rights were defended. In Roman Empire appellant
system comprised of a much broader spectrum than criminal process, as complaints could be made
against fixed taxes and fines.

Appeal is a legal right conferred upon parties by the statutes of law, being quite dissimilar to
revision which depends on the discretion of the court. In criminal cases, at least one appeal is
granted to an accused by the legislature. In the case of Hari Shankar vs Rao Ghari Chowdhuryiv,
the Supreme Court held that “A right of appeal carries with it a right of rehearing on law as well
as fact, unless the statute conferring the right of appeal limits the rehearing in some way as.” An
appeal is not a new trial, nor is it a chance to present new evidence or new witnesses to a new
judge, except in exceptional circumstances; nor a way to avoid complying with the trial court’s
order.

Under Sec 372 of CrPC, an appeal cannot lie from any source other than the statutory provisions
laid down in CrPC or any other law which is in force at that time. Thus, there is no vested right to
appeal as such as even the first appeal will be subjected to statutory limitations. The system always
starts with the assumption that the trial has been conducted in a competent and fair manner. In the
case of Satya Pal Sigh vs State of Madhya Pradeshv, 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, as he falls within the definition of “victim”, to question the correctness of judgment
and order of an acquittal of accused.

The highest court of appeal in the country is the Supreme Court and hence, it enjoys the most
extensive plenary and discretionary powers in cases of appeals. Its powers are largely governed by
the provisions laid down in CrPC, Indian Constitution, and the Supreme Court (Enlargement of
Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction), 1970. Section 386 of the CrPC specifies the powers of the
appellate court. It provides that after pursuing the records and after hearing the parties, the court
may dismiss the appeal, allow the appeal or pass any other order that may appear to it be just and
proper. In criminal matters the court may pass order against acquittal, against conviction and can
also pass order for enhancement of sentence.

Section 376 provides that there shall be no appeal in petty cases. Section 377 confers right on the
Government to file an appeal within a period of 60 days against the inadequacy of sentence
awarded by any court other than a High court on the grounds that the sentence appears to be
inadequate and seeming to be failure of justice. In Chandrappa & Others v. State of Karnatakavi,
Supreme Court held that an appellate court has full power to review, re-appreciate and reconsiders
the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is founded.
In the case of Arun Kumarvii, the Honourable 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.

The State Government has been empowered to direct the Public Prosecutor to appeal against the
sentence on the grounds of inadequacy to either the sessions court or the High Court, however in
only those cases where the trial for conviction has not been held by the High Court as under Sec.
377. 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 becomes
mandatory for the Court to give a reasonable opportunity to the accused to show cause against any
enhancement of the sentence in the interest of justice. Similarly, administration also has authority
to present an appeal in case of an acquittal to Court of Sessions, and the High Court, respectively,
subject to certain specific conditions. Hon’ble Supreme Court, in the case of Satya Pal Singh vs
State of Madhya Pradeshviii held that the victim cannot file an appeal against an order of acquittal
without obtaining the leave of the High Court.

When more persons than one are convicted in one trial, and an appealable judgment or order has
been passed in respect of any of such persons, all or any of the persons convicted at such trial shall
have a right of appealix. However, there are certain circumstances under which no appeal shall lie
as under Section 265G i.e. finality of judgement, Section 375 i.e. when accused pleads guilty and
Section 376 of the CrPC i.e. cases related to petty theft.

Under Section 379 of CrPC , when a person’s order of acquittal is reversed, on appeal to the High
Court, and the person is sentenced to death or to imprisonment for life or to imprisonment for a
term of ten years or more, he may appeal to the Supreme Court. ”The right to appeal harnesses
many advantages on its own. Likely it can be seen that the appellate system provides a method for
correction of error which may have taken place at the sub-ordinate level.

The process of appeal also provides an opportunity to understand the needs of society and grant
an insight to creating new laws or amending old ones. Like in case of cyber law, it brought this
subject before the eyes of the legislative. In the case of Thippaswamyx the Apex court held that it
would be a violation of Article 21 of the constitution to induce or lead an accused to plead guilty
under a promise or assurance that he would be let off lightly and then in appeal or revision, to
enhance that sentence.

Appellate process provides a way to people that if they have valid information for an error to have
occurred. The system of appeal also provides the judiciary with a chance to self-evaluate and adjust
according to the times. The appeal process is also crucial for ‘harmonization of law, namely,
resolution of conflicts in the interpretation of the law among trial courtsxi’.

The appeal process also acts as a tool to prevent error before it happens because it leads to trial
court judges to be more cautious and make less errors because of their fear of reversal of the
judgement or scrutiny from court higher in the hierarchy. The appellate system also helps in
illuminating the legitimacy of the legal process as when a error is rectified by a body with more
authority than which had made a mistake it instills a sense of belief for that institution.

“An appeal serves two basic functions. Its first and primary function is to ensure the litigants
that justice under law has been accorded in the resolution of a specific controversy. The second
function is the promulgation of rules of decision that will be binding on all lower courts within
a judicial system and thus ensure uniformity of treatment and some measure of certainty and
guidance to those whose actions bring them within the scope of the rule.xii”

Appeal serves a distinctive purpose in most modern countries today. The criminal justice processes
have serious repercussions for an individual and the appellate process provides an opportunity to
correct any possible factual or legal errors in any judgment or order and to safeguard the rights of
the citizens. Appeal just doesn’t provide a method for correction of errors but also leads to other
side benefits like prevention of errors, law making, harmonisation of law etc, so it becomes
paramount to understand the necessity of Appeal in modern society for the various benefits that it
provides.
Endnote -
i
Steven Shavell, The Appeals Process as a Means of Error Correction (The Journal of Legal
Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2)
ii
Merriam-Webster Dictionary (visited on: 10/04/2021) https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/appeal
iii
Black’s Law Dictionary 124 (4th Edn.)
iv
Hari Shankar vs Rao Girdhari Lal Chowdhury; 1963 AIR 698
v
Satya Pal Sigh vs State of Madhya Pradesh; AIR 2015 SCW 6251
vi
Chandrappa & Others v. State of Karnataka; (2007) 4 SCC 415
vii
Arun Kumar vs. State of Uttar Pradesh; AIR 1989 SC 1445
viii
Satya Pal Singh vs State of Madhya Pradesh; AIR 2015 SCW 6251
ix
Section 380, Code of Criminal Procedure
x
Thippaswamy v. State of Karnataka; 1983 CLJ 1271
xi
Steven Shavell, The Appeals Process as a Means of Error Correction pg. 425 (The Journal of
Legal Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2)
xii
Britannica, (visited on : 13/04/2020) https://www.britannica.com/topic/appeal

References –

1. R. V. Kelkar’s Criminal Procedure (EBC 5th Edn. 2019)

2. Steven Shavell, The Appeals Process as a Means of Error Correction (The Journal of Legal
Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2)
3. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
4. Black’s Law Dictionary
5. Britannica.com
6. Wikipedia.com
7. JSTOR.org
8. Judiciary.uk
9. Legalbites.org
10. IndiaKanoon.org
11. Investopedia.com