Summary
The appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, and the Patna High Court admitted his appeal under Section 374(2) CrPC in 2009. When he was found to be absconding, the High Court dismissed the admitted appeal in 2015 without considering its merits, treating the absconding as forfeiting his right of appeal and consciously deviating from settled law. The Supreme Court set this aside. Under Sections 385 and 386 CrPC, once an appeal is not summarily dismissed the appellate court must call for the record and dispose of it on merits after scrutinising the evidence; the Code does not permit dismissal for non-prosecution (Bani Singh). The High Court rule requiring surrender applied only before admission. The appeal was remanded for hearing, preferably within six months, with liberty to seek suspension of sentence if not heard by then.
Issues
- Whether an appeal against conviction under Section 374(2) CrPC, already admitted for hearing, can be dismissed without adverting to the merits on the ground that the accused is absconding.
Provisions considered
- Sections 374(2), 385 and 386, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973If the appeal is not dismissed summarily the appellate court must call for the record and dispose of the appeal on merits after perusing it and hearing the appellant or his pleader if present; dismissal for default or non-prosecution is not contemplated. (¶¶ 1, 6, 8)
- Chapter XII, Rule 8, Patna High Court RulesThe requirement that a convict surrender before his appeal is heard for admission applies only at the pre-admission stage and had no application to an appeal admitted in 2009. (¶ 7)
Held
- A High Court cannot countenance its own recorded deviation from settled law. Under Bani Singh, once an appeal is admitted the court must dispose of it on merits by cross-checking the trial court's reasoning against the evidence; absence of the appellant or his lawyer permits disposal on merits after perusing the record, not dismissal for non-prosecution. (¶ 6)
- The appellant's brazen absconding, though rightly deplored, is no ground to dismiss an admitted appeal against conviction without adverting to its merits; the judgment must be set aside and the appeal remanded. (¶ 8)
Result
Appeal partly allowed. The High Court's judgment of 25.08.2015 set aside and Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 936 of 2009 remanded to the Patna High Court for hearing in accordance with law, preferably within six months; if not heard within that time the appellant may apply for suspension of sentence.