Victim Need Not Obtain Leave For Filing Appeal Against Acquittal, It Should Be Dealt As A Regular Appeal, Reiterates SC

Reiterating that victim has a right to file the appeal against acquittal of the accused without seeking leave to Appeal, the Supreme Court observed that such appeal has to be dealt as a regular appeal.

The bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph set aside the High Court judgment which had dismissed appeal of the victim (in fact styled as leave to appeal) on the ground that leave had not been granted to the Government to file the appeal.

Before the Apex Court, the Counsel for the appellant, relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Mallikarjun Kodagalli vs. State of Karnataka, contended that, since the right to appeal would be available, it is different from the appeal filed by the State seeking leave to appeal and, thus, the appeal filed by the victim in the present case ought not to have been dismissed at the threshold only on the ground that no leave has been granted to the State to appeal against the order of acquittal.

Accepting the contentions, the bench said:

We are in agreement with the aforesaid plea since the extracted portion of the impugned order shows that the only reason recorded for dismissing the appeal of the victim (in fact styled as leave to appeal) was on the ground that leave had not been granted to the Government to file the appeal.

... The legal position enunciated in Mallikarjun Kodagalli (d) through legal representatives (supra) would show that the appellant had a right to file the appeal and infact no leave has to be sought in such a situation. Thus, the appeal has to be dealt as a regular appeal.

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