Revision
The term
'revision' is not defined under CPC but Section 115 is related to
revision. Revision is the power of the high court to revise the cases decided by
the courts subordinate to it. This jurisdiction of the High Court is known as Revisional Jurisdiction of the High Court. The revisional power of court is
optional and not a compulsory one.
Appeal
Section 96 to 112 of CPC provides for appeal in the civil cases. The term '
appeal' is not defined in the civil code. Appeal is the power of the higher
authorities to look upon and re examines the cases decided by lower authorities.
The right to appeal is not an inherent right but it is a statutory right. This
means that the right comes from the statute of appeal.
Reference:
Section 395 of Cr.P.C deals with reference. Reference under Cr.P.C involves a
case tried before a trial court. Reference can be made by the court suo moto or
upon the motion of a stranger. The court can either commit the accused in jail
or release him on bail.
Powers of Magistrate/court in connection to:
- Unlawful Assemblies (section 129 to 132) Under Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973
Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual
intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. If the group are about to start
the act of disturbance, it is termed a rout; if the disturbance commenced, its
then termed a riot.
- Removal of Public Nuisance: Section 133 of Cr.P.C
Conditional order-Section 133 provides for a rough and ready procedure to be
used in urgent cases for removal of public nuisances. According to this section
whenever a District Magistrate or a Sub-Divisional Magistrate or any other
Executive Magistrate specially empowered in this behalf by the State Government,
on receiving the report of a police officer or other information and on taking
such evidence (if any) as he thinks fit.
- For keeping peace and ensuring good behaviour
Section 115 - Power to dispense with personal attendance The Magistrate may, if
he sees sufficient cause, dispense with the personal attendance of any person
called upon to show cause why he should not be ordered to execute a bond for
keeping the peace or for good behavior and may permit him to appear by a
pleader. • Cr.P.C Section 108. Security for good behavior from persons
disseminating seditious matter.
- When an executive Magistrate receives information that there is within his
local jurisdictions any person who, within or without such jurisdiction:
- Either orally or in writing or in any other manner intentionally
disseminates or attempts to disseminate or abets the dissemination of:
- Any matter the publication of' which is punishable under section 124A or
section 153A or section 153B or section 295A of' the Indian Penal Code (45
of' 1860), or
- Any matter concerning a Judge acting or purporting to act in the
discharge of his official duties which amounts to criminal intimidation or
deformation under the Indian Penal Code
- Makes Produces, Publishes or keeps for sale, imports, exports, conveys,
sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any other manner
puts into circulation any obscene matter such as is referred to in section
292 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), And the magistrate is of opinion
that there is sufficient ground for proceeding, the Magistrate may, in the
manner hereinafter provided, require such person to show cause why he should
not be ordered to execute a bond, with or without sureties, for his good
behavior for such period, not exceeding one year, as the Magistrate thinks
fit.
- No proceeding shall be taken under this section against the editor,
proprietor, printer or publisher of any publication registered under, and
edited, printed and published in conformity with, the rules laid down in the
Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867), with reference to
any matter contained in such publication except by the order or under the
authority of the State Government or some officer empowered by the State
Government in this behalf.
- Execution of sentence is defined under Section 430 of Cr.P.C. It states:
When a sentence has been fully executed, the officer executing it shall return
the warrant to the Court from which it is issued, with an endorsement under his
hand certifying the manner in which the sentence has been executed.
Section 354(5) reads as under:
"When any person is sentenced to death, the
sentence shall direct that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead." The
execution of the death penalty in India, under the Code of Criminal Procedure,
is thus carried out with hanging by neck till death during the last over hundred
years.
Law Commission's view on execution of death sentence through hanging by neck
is given below as:
- Simple to execute
- Less scientific equipment's required
- Most of the time may involve enormous pain
- Mutilation involved
Power of a court of revision is given below as:
The High Courts power to jurisdiction to act as a revisional court has to be
deduced from all the provisions in section 397-401 read together. The points on
which they are read together are as follows:
- The High Court my it self call for the record of an inferior court under
section 397 either on the application of a party aggrieved suo moto, which is
section 401(1).
- When the high court has before it on appeal the record of a criminal
proceeding, it may exercise its power of revision under section 401 in
respect of a matter in regard to which it could have otherwise exercised its
power of revision even where the appeal is incomplete. It should be noted
that where in a proceeding on appeal the court proposes to exercise its revisional powers; its
intention to that effect should be made clear in its orders. If however high
court proceeds in exercise of its power as an appellant court, assuming that the
appeal is complete and subsequently it is discovered that appeal was incompetent
and that accordingly the order passed by the high court was void, the order
cannot be saved by treating it as having been passed by the High Court as a
court of revision.
- The High Court may also exercise its revisional powers where the defect in
the record of a case before an inferior court comes to its knowledge in any
other manner.
Powers of court in respect of transfer of cases are as followed:
- The offence which is inquired into or tried by any Court subordinate to
it be inquired by any other court which is inclusively under both Section
177 and Section 185 of the Code is not qualified but is otherwise competent
to inquire into or try offences like the ones which are in question;
- Where a particular case or appeal is pending before any criminal court
which is subordinate to it to any other criminal court which is having equal
or superior jurisdiction in comparison to the High Court;
- The particular case be laid down before the court of Sessions for
hearing;
- The particular case or appeal is laid down before the High Court itself.
Section 391 of the Cr.P.C (Criminal Procedure Code), dilutes the Section 300
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the message given by judicial
interpretation is loud and clear, i.e. Additional Evidence, whether Oral or
Documentary or in any other form can be taken.
Section 391 specifies that an Appellate Court may take further evidence or
direct it to be taken. In dealing with any appeal the Appellate Court, if it
thinks additional evidence to be necessary, shall record its reasons and may
either take such evidence itself, or direct it to be taken by a Magistrate, or
when the Appellate Court is a High Court, by a Court of Session or a Magistrate.
Disposal of Criminal Cases Without Full Trial Under Cr.P.C
- Criminal proceedings barred by limitation:
When the accused appears or is brought before the court, he can raise the
preliminary object that the criminal proceedings against him are barred by
limitation under Section 468, Cr.P.C.
- Compounding of offences:
Section 320(1) specifies the offences, which can be compounded without the
permission of the Court. These offences are mostly of a minor nature viz
injuring religious feelings S. 298, causing hurt - Section 323 and 324,
wrongfully restraining or confining any person - Section 341 and 342, assault or
use of criminal force. Sections 352, 355 and 358 mischief.
- Discharge of Accused:
When the magistrate considers the charge against the Accused is groundless,
after recording reasons the accused can be discharged under Section 239 of
Criminal Procedure Code.
Warrant cases are those that include offences punishable with death penalty,
imprisonment for life or imprisonment exceeding more than two years.
Trial of warrant cases is of two types:
- Cases instituted on a police report
- Cases instituted otherwise than on police report
Trial before a Court of Session:
The code lays down the procedure for trial
before a court of session as follows: Parties (sec. 225): In a trial before a
court of session, the prosecution shall be conducted by a public prosecutor. The
accused has a right to engage a counsel of his choice. If he cannot afford to
engage the defence counsel, the court engaged at the state expenses. Before
commencing the trial, the accused in supplied with the copies of documents like
police report, F.I.R etc.
Opening the case (sec. 226):
The public prosecutor opens the case by describing
accusation against the accused. He states briefly by what evidence, he proposes
to prove the guilt. The prosecutor duty is not to secure a conviction but simply
to lay the facts of the case before the tribunal, which is to judge.
Discharge of the accused (sec. 227):
After hearing from both the parties if the
court considers that there is no sufficient ground to proceed against the
accused, discharges him and records the reason for doing so. There is no scope
for examination of any witness but there is scope for both sides to argue their
case in favour of framing charge or discharge.
Framing of charge (sec. 228):
After hearing from both the parties if the court
presumes that the accused might have committed the offences:
- If frames a charge in writing, if the offence is exclusively triable by the Court of
Session.
- If the offence is not triable exclusively by the sessional court, it frames
charge and transfers the case to the Chief Judicial Magistrate.
Explaining the charge and enquiry about plea (sec. 228(2)):
The contents of the
charge have to be explained to the accused as to enable him to plead guilty of
the offence or claim to be tried.
Conviction on plea of guilty (sec. 229):
If the accused pleads guilty, the judge
shall record the plea and may in his discretion convict him thereon.
Date for prosecution evidence (sec. 230): If the accused refuses to plead or
does not plead or claims to be tried or is not convicted under sec. 229, the
judge shall fix at date for the examination or witness or may order for
compelling appearance of any witness or production of a thing/document.
Evidence for prosecution (sec.231):
It consists of two points:
- On the date so fixed as above, the judge takes all such evidence is
support of the prosecution.
- The judge may in his discretion, permits the cross examination of any
witness to be deferred until any other witness have been examined or recall
any witness for further cross examination.
Under Section 482, the High Court has inherent power to quash criminal
proceedings if the parties have settled the matter, even in those cases, which
are not compoundable. However, such power is to be exercised sparingly and with
great caution.
Written By:
- Shubham Parashar,
- Aman Taneja,
- Yash Sharma and
- Naman Singla
Please Drop Your Comments