9911796707
TMI Blog2011 (1) TMI 1596X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Code. He further submitted that the period of limitation for an appeal by the State Government or the Central Government against an order of acquittal is 90 days from the date of order appealed from by virtue of Article 114(a) of the Limitation Act, 1963. It was also contended that since the State Government's/Central Government's appeal against an order of acquittal has been permitted to be filed within 90 days, the same logic should apply to the victim's appeal against an order of acquittal and, therefore, the period of limitation ought to be 90 days. He submitted that it is also a well-established principle that where no period of limitation is prescribed by the statute, the courts would have to infer a reasonable period of limitation. Considered in this manner, according to the learned Counsel for the Appellant, the 90 days period, which has been prescribed for the States' / Centre's appeal, would definitely amount to a reasonable period of limitation. The learned Counsel for the Appellant further submitted that in the event the period of 90 days is taken as the period of limitation in respect of the appeals by victims against the orders of acquittals, t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r guardian, if he or she was a minor or of unsound mind or under some other disability. 5. Section 2(wa) of the Code reads as under: 2. Definitions.-In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,- xxx xxx xxx (wa) victim means a person who has suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of the act or omission for which the accused person has been charged and the expression 'victim' includes his or her guardian or legal heir; 6. In the present case, the victim of the crime, taken in the natural and ordinary sense, was the Appellant's daughter (Nasreen). However, now that the actual crime victim (Nasreen) is no more, the question arises as to whether the Appellant being her father can be regarded as a victim - It was held in the said decision [Chattar Singh (supra)] that such a person could only be regarded as a victim if he was covered by the includes part of the definition under Section 2(wa) on the Code by falling within the expression legal heir . It was further held that that the said expression legal heir in relation to a victim clearly referred to a person who was entitled to the property of the victim under the applicable law of inheritance. 7. In the prese ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lie to the Court to which an appeal ordinarily lies against the order of conviction of such Court. The proviso to Section 372 was introduced with effect from 31.12.2009 by virtue of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008. Because of this proviso, a victim has been given a specific right of appeal against any order passed by a court under three different situations. The first being where the accused is acquitted; the second, where the accused is convicted for a lesser offence and, the third, where inadequate compensation is imposed. 9. Prior to the introduction of the said proviso to Section 372 of the Code, the victim as such did not have any statutory right of appeal. Section 374 of the Code had provided for a convict's right of appeal against conviction. Section 377 enabled the State Governments or the Central Government to file an appeal with regard to inadequacy of sentence. This appeal provision was, however, conditional upon the fact that there could be no enhancement without an opportunity to the accused and that in case such an appeal was preferred, the accused had a right to plead for acquittal and / or for reduction in sentence in that very appeal. Apart ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ay in filing an appeal by the State Government or Central Government it would be open to them to file an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of such delay. That period can be extended if the court is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the period of 90 days. 11. From the above discussion, it is clear that appeals have been provided for under Sections 374, 377 and 378 of the Code in respect of appeals against conviction, inadequacy of sentence and acquittals, respectively. Now, with the introduction of the proviso to Section 372, a victim has also been given the right of appeal in respect of an order of acquittal, a conviction for a lesser offence and for inadequacy of compensation. However, while specific periods of limitation have been prescribed for the earlier three kinds of appeals either in the Code itself or by virtue of the Limitation Act, 1963, there is no period of limitation prescribed for the filing of an appeal by a victim under the proviso to Section 372. Therefore, as is well-established, a reasonable period would have to be inferred from the statutory provisions. [See: State of Punjab and Ors. v ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
