The Hon’ble bench comprising Hon’ble Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh and Hon’ble justice Arvind Srivatsava held that “the appeal by the victim under section 372 Cr.p.c cannot lie against the judgment of the criminal court for enhancement of punishment imposed against an accused.”
Further, stating that present appeal is thoroughly misconceived it is emphasized about section 372 Cr.p.c that “under section 372 of Cr.p.c appeal only lies against those judgments and orders for which it is provided in the code or any other law for time being in force and added to it a proviso to section 372 of Cr.p.c only states that victim has right to appeal against the judgment/order passed by the court acquitting the accused or convicting for a lesser offence or imposing inadequate compensation.”
Moreover, it is noted by the Hon’ble bench that “Only state government can file an appeal for enhanced punishment under section 377 of Cr.p.c.”
The appeal herein is against the judgment of the trial court by the father of a victim for enhancement of punishment which was imposed on the respondent herein to death.
In the instant case, the victim is a minor girl aged about 8years old and was raped in a car and was strangulated to death, and was dumped behind the residence of the district magistrate by the second respondent in the present appeal.
Subsequent to the incident on information from appellant herein an FIR under Sections 363, 364, 366A of the IPC and 8 ‘POCSO Act’ was registered against the accused, and later during the investigation Sections 302, 376, 307, and 201 of the IPC and 4 of the POCSO Act were added to the said FIR.
Finally, after hearing to both parties trial court found there is no evidence produced by the defence and took into consideration only the evidence produced by the prosecution and convicted the accused under Sections 363, 364, 366, 307, 376, 302, 201 of the IPC and 4(2) of the POCSO Act.
