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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
ABHAY S. OKA, AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, JJ.
Vimalakka Ramappa Koli @ Talwar – Appellant
Versus
The State of Karnataka – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 3398 of 2024
Decided On : 16-10-2024
(A) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 – Section 378 [Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 419] – Appeal against acquittal – Appellate Court has to examine whether findings recorded in acquittal judgment are plausible findings that could have been recorded based on evidence on record – Only if Appellate Court is satisfied that guilt of accused is duly proved was the only plausible finding which could have been recorded based on evidence on record, Appellate Court can overturn order of acquittal – Only because it is possible to take another view is no ground to overturn order of acquittal. (Para 5)
(B) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 198 and 420 [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Sections 235 and 318(4)] – Use of false certificate for cheating – Reversal of acquittal by Appellate Court – Mens rea is an essential ingredient of offence – Only because appellant could not establish her caste claim before Committee, one cannot conclude that appellant corruptly used caste certificate – Corruptly using certificate is not sufficient – Accused must have knowledge that certificate is false – Allegation that certificate is false to knowledge of appellant must be proved by prosecution – Caste certificate was issued by authority which was competent to issue it after following due procedure – Caste certificate, per se, cannot be false or fabricated – If a caste certificate is invalidated as applicant could not prove his caste cannot be termed false only on the ground that it was invalidated – There is no evidence to show that caste certificate was false – Ingredients of Section 198 of IPC were not made out – Fraudulent or dishonest acts are essential ingredients of cheating – Sessions Court has recorded no such finding regarding any fraudulent or dishonest acts on part of appellant – Sessions Court could not have overturned order of acquittal – High Court while confirming order of Sessions Court has not even considered the fact that Sessions Court has not recorded a finding that ingredients of offences were established – Judgment and order passed by High Court in Criminal Revision Petition set aside and Judgment of Magistrate restored. (Paras 7, 8, 9 and 11)
Facts of the case:
In a revision petition filed by appellant, High Court confirmed conviction for offences punishable under Sections 198 and 420 of IPC by impugned judgment. However, it acquitted appellant for offence punishable under Section 196 of IPC. High Court reduced substantive sentence to six months.
Findings of Court:
Only if Appellate Court is satisfied that guilt of accused is duly proved was only plausible finding which could have been recorded based on evidence on record, Appellate Court can overturn order of acquittal. In this case, no such finding has been recorded by the Sessions Court. Only because it is possible to take another view is no ground to overturn an order of acquittal.
Result : Criminal Appeal allowed.
JUDGMENT :
ABHAY S. OKA, J.
FACTUAL ASPECTS
1. The appellant-accused was prosecuted for the offences punishable under Sections 196, 198, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘the IPC’). The allegation of the prosecution is that on an application made by the appellant on 9th September, 2022 to the competent authority falsely claiming that she belongs to Hindu Holer Caste, which was a Scheduled Caste, a caste certificate was issued stating that she belongs to Hindu Holer Caste. Based on the caste certificate, the appellant applied for a grant of a loan to Karnataka Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation Limited, Belgaum and the loan was granted. Later on, the certificate was scrutinized by the District Caste Verification Committee (the Committee), which concluded that the appellant did not belong to the Hindu Holer Caste but belonged to the Hindu Talwar Caste. Accordingly, the Committee invalidated the caste certificate. Based on the First Information Report registered, a charge sheet was filed against the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 196, 198 and 420 of the IPC.
2. The learned Judicial Magistrate passed an order of acquittal. In an appeal against acquittal preferred by the respondent-State, the Sessions Court, by judgment dated 21st January, 2015, overturned the order of acquittal and convicted the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 196, 198 and 420 of the IPC. The appellant was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three years and a fine of Rs. 5,000/-. In default, he was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three months. The same sentence was imposed for the offences punishable under Sections 198 and 420 of the IPC.
3. In a revision petition filed by the appellant, the High Court confirmed the conviction for the offences punishable under Sections 198 and 420 of the IPC by the impugned judgment. However, it acquitted the appellant for the offence punishable under Section 196 of the IPC. The High Court reduced the substantive sentence to six months.
SUBMISSIONS
4. The submission of the learned counsel appearing for the appellant is that while overturning the order of acquittal, there is no finding recorded by the Sessions Court that ingredients of offences punishable under Sections 196, 198 and 415 read with Section 420 of the IPC were proved by the prosecution. He submitted that the Sessions Court was impressed by the fact that the appellant did not challenge the order cancelling the caste certificate. The learned counsel appearing for the State supported the impugned judgments of the Sessions Court and High Court.
CONSIDERATION OF SUBMISSIONS
5. We have carefully perused the judgment of the Trial and Sessions Courts. As far as an appeal against acquittal is concerned, the law is well settled. The Appellate Court has to examine whether the findings recorded in the acquittal judgment are plausible findings that could have been recorded based on the evidence on record. Only if the Appellate Court is satisfied that the guilt of the accused is duly proved was the only plausible finding which could have been recorded based on the evidence on record, the Appellate Court can overturn the order of acquittal. In this case, no such finding has been recorded by the Sessions Court. Only because it is possible to take another view is no ground to overturn an order of acquittal.
6. We find that the Sessions Court has not adverted to the ingredients of the offences for which the appellant was convicted. Perhaps the Sessions Court felt troubled because there were many cases where the caste certificates issued by the competent authority were being invalidated, and people were taking undue advantage of such certificates. Moreover, the Sessions Court was impressed by the fact that the appellant did not challenge the Committee’s order invalidating the caste certificate.
7. As there is no finding recorded that the ingredients of the offences alleged have been proved, t
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The appellate court must respect the presumption of innocence and not overturn acquittals unless the trial court's conclusions are unreasonable or unsupported by evidence.
Minimum sentences prescribed by law cannot be reduced by courts, reaffirming the importance of statutory requirements in sentencing.
The appellate court must exercise caution in appeals against acquittal, maintaining the presumption of innocence unless manifest illegality or compelling reasons warrant intervention.
In acquittal appeals, evidence must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; presumption of innocence remains unless proven otherwise.
The accused cannot be prosecuted for the offence under sec. 3(1)(ix) of the Act as the law did not exist at the time when the certificates were issued. The false caste certificates obtained by person....
The appellate court must respect the presumption of innocence and the trial court's findings unless they are perverse or illegal, reaffirming the high burden of proof required in criminal cases.
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