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The Power of Appellate Court

The appellate court has powers to dispose of appeals according to Section 423 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This includes dismissing appeals if there is insufficient ground, reversing orders of acquittal and directing further inquiry or retrial, finding appellants guilty and passing sentence, reversing convictions and acquitting or discharging accused or ordering retrial, altering findings or reducing sentences, and making any necessary amendments or incidental orders. The court cannot alter a jury verdict unless it finds misdirection or misunderstanding by the jury. Per previous cases, the appellate court has power to alter sentences but not pass sentences beyond the trial court's jurisdiction and can exercise revisional powers but not find convictions beyond the trial court's competence or pass sentences outside its jurisdiction.

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Naing Aung
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218 views2 pages

The Power of Appellate Court

The appellate court has powers to dispose of appeals according to Section 423 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This includes dismissing appeals if there is insufficient ground, reversing orders of acquittal and directing further inquiry or retrial, finding appellants guilty and passing sentence, reversing convictions and acquitting or discharging accused or ordering retrial, altering findings or reducing sentences, and making any necessary amendments or incidental orders. The court cannot alter a jury verdict unless it finds misdirection or misunderstanding by the jury. Per previous cases, the appellate court has power to alter sentences but not pass sentences beyond the trial court's jurisdiction and can exercise revisional powers but not find convictions beyond the trial court's competence or pass sentences outside its jurisdiction.

Uploaded by

Naing Aung
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Power of Appellate Court in disposing of appeal


Powers of Appellate Court in disposing of appeal are provided under section-423
of The Code of Criminal Procedure (1898) as
(1) The appellate Court shall then send for the record of the case, if such record is not
already in Court. 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 417, the accused if he appears, the Court may, if it considers
that there is no sufficient ground for interfering, dismiss the appeal, or may-
(a) in an appeal from an order of acquittal, reverse such order and direct that further
inquiry be made, or that the accused be retired or committed for trial, as the case may be,
or find him guilty and pass sentence on him according to law;
(b) in an appeal from a conviction, (1) reverse the findings and sentence, and acquit
or discharge the accused, or order him to be retried by a Court of competent jurisdiction
subordinate to such appellate Court or committed for trial, or (2) alter the finding,
maintaining the sentence, or with or without altering the finding, reduce the sentence, or
(3) with or without such reduction and with or without altering the finding, alter the
nature of the sentence, but subject to the provisions of section 106, sub-section (3), not so
as to enhance the same;
(c) in an appeal from any other order alter or reverse such order;
(d) make any amendment or any consequential or incidental order that may be just or
proper.
(2) Nothing herein contained shall authorize the Court to alter, reverse the verdict of a
jury, unless it is of opinion that such verdict is erroneous owing to a misdirection by the
Judge, or to a misunderstanding on the part of the jury of the law as laid down by him.
In the case of Maung E Maung vs. The King (1940, R.L.R, p-215), it was held
that appellate Court's has power to alter sentence and no power to pass sentence beyond
jurisdiction of trial Court and has revisional powers under Criminal Procedure Code,
Sections 32, 106(3) 423 (b) (3), 439(3). Section 423 (b) (3) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure allows the appellate Court, with or without altering the finding, to alter the
nature of the sentence, but subject to the provisions of Section 106(3) not so as to
enhance the same. But appellate Court has no power either to come to a finding which
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was not within the competency of the trial Court, or to pass a sentence which was beyond
the jurisdiction given to the trial Court by Section 32 of the Code.
In the case of B. K. HALDER vs. S. KR. CHELLIAH PILLAY AND
OTHERS (1952, B.L.R, H.C, p-340), the Court held that even if the applicant or his
advocate does not appear, it is the duty of the Sessions Judge to peruse the lower Court
record and satisfy himself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of the order sought
to be reviewed, and must dispose of the application on its merits. When a Criminal
Appeal or Criminal Revision petition is dismissed for default of appearance, there is no
decision on the merits, and there is no proper disposal of it according to law; the order of
dismissal is not a judgment.
In the case of TUN BIN vs. THE UNION OF BURMA (1951, B.L.R, S.C, p-
148), the court held that under section-423 (1) (b) in an appeal from a conviction the
Appellate Court can do any of the following things: -
(1) Alter the finding and maintain the sentence.
(2) Alter the finding and reduce the sentence.
(3) Reduce the sentence without altering the finding. But this does not mean that the
Court can alter the finding and retain the sentence passed which would be illegal
according to the finding. What the section provides for is maintenance of a sentence
which can legally be passed for the offence for which the finding is altered. When the
accused is tried on a charge for a major offence but is convicted. for a minor offence, and
there is an appeal, the High Court can open a Revision proceeding and call upon the
accused to show cause why the acquittal of the major charge should not be set aside and a
re-trial ordered. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the High Court then in exercise of
its appellate jurisdiction must get rid of the order of conviction for a minor offence by
setting it aside. The High Court then in exercise of its revisionary jurisdiction must set
aside the order of acquittal and under sub-section 4 of section-439 of the Criminal
Procedure Code order the re-trial of the case, but the High Court in its revisional power
cannot convert an acquittal into one of conviction.

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