ORDER

1. This petition under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. P.C.) is directed against the order dated 22.4.2015 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, South Tripura, Belonia in Case No. Criminal Misc. No. 19 of 2014 whereby he held that in an appeal filed by the victim under Section 372 of the Cr. P.C. no limitation is prescribed.

2. The following interesting question of law arises in this appeal:-

Whether, in appeal filed by a victim under Section 372 of the Cr. P.C. no limitation is applicable?

3. Briefly stated, the facts are that the respondent No. 1 (hereinafter referred to as the wife) filed a complaint before the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Belonia against the petitioners, i.e. the husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law of the complainant. After trial, the learned Magistrate acquitted the petitioners.

4. Aggrieved by the said order of acquittal, the complainant-wife filed an appeal before the learned Sessions Judge, South Tripura, Belonia and also filed a petition under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of 340 days delay in filing the appeal. The petitioners filed objections to the application for condonation of delay. This application has been disposed of by the learned Sessions Judge by holding that there is no period of limitation prescribed in case of an appeal filed by the victim. His order reads as follows:-

Heard both sides on this application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act to condone the delay.

At the time of hearing nobody could show the period of limitation where it is prescribed for filing an appeal by a victim under Section 372 proviso of Cr. P.C.

I am in the opinion that, the legislature did not provide any period of limitation for filing an appeal by a victim against order of acquittal. Since there is no prescribe statutory period of limitation for filing an appeal under Section 372 proviso of Cr. P.C. the question of allowing or rejecting of application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act does not arise.

I am in the opinion that, every victim has a statutory right to file appeal under Section 372 proviso of Cr. P.C. and for that purpose there is no law of limitation restraining him/her in this regard.

The appeal filed by the petitioner has to be admitted.

5. At the outset, we may note that the concept of the victim being allowed to prosecute a criminal case or file an appeal against acquittal of the accused is a new development and trend in law. The old conservative theory was that criminal offences were treated to be offences against the State and therefore, it was the State which prosecuted the case. If the State machinery did not act on the complaint the victim or the complainant could come to Court but again in terms of Section 156 of the Code the investigation had to be done by the police alone and later normally in such cases the State alone prosecuted the matters. There were rare cases where the criminal proceedings were initiated at the instance of a complainant and were termed as complaint cases. Complaint cases are dealt with under Chapter 15 of the Code which lays down the procedure to be followed in suit cases. Thus, as the law stood prior to the amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008, a victim had no right to file an appeal against acquittal.

6. Appeals against acquittal are governed by Section 378 of the Code. As per sub section (1) of this Section only a District Magistrate or the State as the case may be is entitled to direct the Public Prosecutor to file an appeal. Sub section (2) deals with cases investigated under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and in these cases the Central Government may also direct the Public Prosecutor to file the appeal. Sub section (4) deals with appeals filed by the complainant in case the order of acquittal