Appeals, Reference and Revision Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The accused is entitled to file an appeal before the Court of Session.

Section 374(3)(a) of the CrPC provides that any person convicted on a trial held by a Metropolitan Magistrate, an Assistant Sessions Judge or a Magistrate of the First or Second Class may appeal to the Court of Session.

The petty-case bar in Section 376 does not reach this case. It shuts out appeals only in listed situations, such as a Magistrate of the First Class passing a sentence of fine alone not exceeding one hundred rupees, or a Metropolitan Magistrate passing a short sentence; a Second Class Magistrate's sentence of one month's imprisonment is not among them. An appeal does not depend on a fine having been imposed, and it does not lie directly to the High Court from a Magistrate.

Answer: D

All three pairs are correct, so the answer is A, B and C. Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with suspension of the sentence pending the appeal and release of the appellant on bail, Section 390 with the arrest of the accused in an appeal from an acquittal, and Section 391 with the power of the appellate court to take further evidence or direct it to be taken.

The options naming only A, only B and C, or only C leave out a correct pair, so only the one listing all three is complete.

Answer: D

The complainant must file an application for grant of leave to appeal in the High Court.

Section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides that where an order of acquittal is passed in a case instituted upon complaint, the High Court may, on an application made by the complainant, grant special leave to appeal. The application must be made within sixty days (six months if the complainant is a public servant).

The complainant has no direct appeal to the Sessions Court, and a revision is not the proper remedy where the statute provides an appeal with leave.

Answer: D

No appeal can be filed.

Section 376 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 bars appeals in petty cases. Under clause (c), there is no appeal where a Metropolitan Magistrate passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or of fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, or of both. Three months' simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 200 is within those limits.

An appeal would otherwise lie to the Court of Session, but the bar applies first, and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has no appellate jurisdiction over such a sentence. Revision remains possible, but not an appeal.