The court established that appeals by victims under Section 372 Cr.P.C. are subject to a limitation period of 90 days, drawing parallels with provisions for other appeals.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Kainthla, J.

The victim has filed the present appeal under proviso to Section 372 of Cr.P.C. The Registry has raised an objection that the appeal is barred by 01 year, 04 months and 03 days. The applicant had filed an application under Section 5 of the LIMITATION ACT for condonation of delay in filing the appeal. This application was opposed on behalf of the respondents.

2. We have heard Mr. Suresh Singh Saini, learned Legal Aid Counsel for the applicant, Mr. Ashok Kumar Tyagi, learned counsel for respondent No.1 and Mr. Ramakant Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, for respondent No.2-State.

3. Mr. Suresh Singh Saini, learned Legal Aid Counsel for the applicant submitted that the Registry has erred in reporting that the appeal is barred by limitation. No limitation period has been provided for an appeal filed by the victim under proviso to Section 372 of Cr.P.C. Such an appeal can be filed at any time. In the alternative, he submitted that if the appeal is held to be barred by limitation, the delay in filing the appeal be condoned.

4. Mr. Ashok Kumar Tyagi, learned counsel for respondent No.1/accused submitted that the appeal, by the victim, can be filed within a reasonable time and it cannot be said that the appeal is not governed by the law of limitation. A reasonable time would be 60/90 days as per the limitation governing the ordinary appeal.

5. Mr. Ramakant Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General for respondent No.2-State supported the submissions of Mr. Ashok Kumar Tyagi, learned counsel for respondent No.1/accused.

6. We have given considerable thought to the submissions made at the bar and have gone through the records carefully.

7. The legislature introduced the proviso to Section 372 by way of an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure by Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment Act, 2009) (Act no. 5 of 2009); however, no amendment was carried out in the LIMITATION ACT for prescribing a limitation for such an appeal.

8. The question which falls for determination is whether the appeal filed by a victim under proviso of Section 372 of Cr.P.C. (corresponding to Section 413 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) is governed by limitation or not and if so what is the period of limitation.

9. The question regarding the applicability of the period of limitation to an appeal filed by the victim has enganged the attention of various High Courts.

10. A Full Bench of Delhi High Court held in Kareemul Hajazi v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2011 SCC OnLine Del 60 that the period of limitation of 60 days provided under Article 114(a) of the LIMITATION ACT will apply to an appeal filed by the victim because this will be a reasonable period. It was observed:-

“11. From the above discussion, it is clear that appeals have been provided for under Sections 374, 377 and 378 of the Code in respect of appeals against conviction, inadequacy of sentence and acquittals, respectively. Now, with the introduction of the proviso to Section 372 , a victim has also been given the right of appeal in respect of an order of acquittal, a conviction for a lesser offence and for inadequacy of compensation. However, while specific periods of limitation have been prescribed for the earlier three kinds of appeals either in the Code itself or by virtue of the LIMITATION ACT , 1963, there is no period of limitation prescribed for the filing of an appeal by a