The Supreme Court has held that a "victim" of an offence has the right to file an appeal against the acquittal of the accused as per the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), irrespective of whether they are the complainant or not. This means that even if victims themselves have not filed the original complaint, they can still appeal against the acquittal by invoking the proviso to Section 372 CrPC.
A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed:
"The proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC was inserted in the statute book only with effect from 31.12.2009. The object and reason for such insertion must be realised and must be given its full effect to by a court. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we hold that the victim of an offence has the right to prefer an appeal under the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC, irrespective of whether he is a complainant or not. Even if the victim of an offence is a complainant, he can still proceed under the proviso to Section 372 and need not advert to sub-section (4) of Section 378 of the CrPC." 146
This landmark ruling clarifies and expands the rights of victims in the criminal justice process, ensuring that they have a direct avenue to challenge acquittals, regardless of their status as complainant.
