S.413 BNSS | Victim's Appeal Against Acquittal By Magistrate Lies Before Sessions Court : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that a victim's appeal against an order of acquittal passed by a Magistrate lies before the Court of Session and not the High Court.
“…when there is a conviction in a trial held by a Magistrate of the First Class or the Second Class, an appeal lies to the Sessions Court. Going by the proviso to Section 413 BNSS, an appeal filed by a victim against an order of acquittal also has to be before the Court to which an appeal ordinarily lies against the order of conviction of such Court. The order of acquittal passed by a learned Magistrate, hence, has to be appealed before the Court in which a conviction ordered by a Magistrate can be appealed, which is the Sessions Court.”, observed a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran, while affirming the Calcutta High Court's order which had refused to entertain the petitioner-victim's appeal against the acquittal, while granting them leave to file an appeal before the Sessions Court.
The petitioner's son, who was suffering from depressive disorders, died by suicide after being admitted to a hospital. The petitioner alleged that negligence of a doctor and a nurse caused his death. An FIR was registered under Section 304A read with Section 34 IPC.
After the Judicial Magistrate acquitted the accused, the petitioner filed an appeal before the Calcutta High Court. The High Court held that the appeal was not maintainable before it and granted liberty to approach the Sessions Court, aggrieved by which, the victim moved to the Supreme Court.
Refusing to interfere with the impugned findings, the Court examined the interplay between Sections 413, 415(3) and 419 of the BNSS.
The Court held that Section 419, which generally deals with appeals against acquittal, does not govern an appeal filed by a victim because the proviso to Section 413 specifically provides the applicable remedy.
The proviso to Section 413 gives a victim a right to appeal against an order acquitting the accused; convicting the accused for a lesser offence; or imposing inadequate compensation.
Crucially, such an appeal lies before “the Court to which an appeal ordinarily lies against the order of conviction of such Court.”
Under Section 415(3) BNSS, an accused convicted in a trial conducted by a Magistrate of the First or Second Class can appeal to the Court of Session.
Therefore, the Court held that an appeal by a victim against an acquittal by a Magistrate must also be filed before the Sessions Court, irrespective of the nature of the offence.
“The order of acquittal passed by a learned Magistrate, hence, has to be appealed before the Court in which a conviction ordered by a Magistrate can be appealed, which is the Sessions Court.”, the Court held.
Accordingly, the SLP was dismissed, with a liberty to the victim to approach the Sessions Court. Further, stating that “if an appeal is filed within one month from the date of this order, the same shall be admitted and heard on merits, without considering the delay which has been caused only by reason of a bona fide proceeding taken by the petitioner.
Cause Title: Subhas Chandra Sarkar Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 990
Appearance:
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Jayesh Gaurav, Adv. (Amicus Curiae) Mr. Kuldeep Rai, Adv. (Amicus Curiae) Mr. Vijay Singh, Adv. Petitioner-in-person
For Respondent(s) :Mr. Nishant Awana, Adv., Standing Counsel Mr. Rini Badoni, Adv. Mr. G.S. Awana, Adv. Mr. Suraj Kundu, Adv. Mr. Amogh Pandey, Adv. Mr. Mayank Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Manish Gupta, AOR Mr. Prateek Gupta, Adv. Ms. Shipra Bhardwaj, Adv. Mr. Sowmya China, Adv. Ms. Manaswee Gupta, Adv. Ms. Payal Singh, Adv. Mr. Vivek Chandrasekar, Adv. Ms. Riya, Adv. Mr. Ravi, Adv. Mr. Mehul Jain, Adv. Mr. Yash Tewari, Adv. Mr. Ankit Gupta, Adv. Mr. Shubham Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Amit Mishra, Adv. Ms. Vaishnavi Mishra, Adv. Ms. Phallya Jain, Adv. Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra, AOR Mrs. Susmita Mahala, Adv. Mrs. Mamata Pal, Adv. Mr. Santosh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Kumar Nayak, Adv.