High Court In An Appeal U/Sec 374(2) CrPC Has To Independently Evaluate Entirety Of Evidence: SC

Key Takeaways

• A High Court in a criminal appeal under Section 374(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure is duty-bound to consider the entirety of the evidence.

Background

• The trial court had convicted all the forty-four accused.
• The High Court upheld the conviction of thirty-five of them under the provisions of Sections 148, 149, 323/149, 436/149 (five counts) and 302/149 (three counts) of the Indian Penal Code 1860

Observations

• In appeal, the Bench observed that there was no independent evaluation of the evidence on the record by the High Court
• In the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, the High Court was required to evaluate the evidence on the record independently and to arrive at its findings as regards the culpability or otherwise of the accused based on the evidentiary material.

Questions

• What is your opinion on this judgement?
• What do you mean by ‘independent evaluation of evidence'?

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