JUDGMENT

Abdoolcader J (delivering oral judgment):

The cases against the first appellant, arraigned on two charges, one of criminal intimidation and the other relating to extortion, and the second appellant, on a substantive charge of abetment of criminal intimidation by the 1st appellant and an alternative charge of criminal Conspiracy, were called up on 3 June this year by the President of the Sessions Court conferred at the material time with special jurisdiction under s. 63(3) (since repealed) of the Subordinate Courts Act 1948, and on their plea of guilty and subsequent conviction the first appellant was sentenced to the maximum but a concurrent term of seven years' imprisonment on both the charges preferred against him, and the second appellant to a term of three years' imprisonment on the substantive charge. The appellants now appeal against both conviction and sentence.

Section 305 of the Criminal Procedure Code which is based on s. 412 of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code of 1898 (since repealed and re-enacted in 1973) provides that there shall be no appeal by an accused person convicted on a plea of guilty except as to the extent or legality of the sentence. As a matter of passing interest, the position in England in this respect is statutorily governed by the provisions of s. 2(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1968 which afford only two grounds for an appeal against a conviction on a plea of guilty, namely, if there has been a wrong decision on a question of law or a material irregularity in the course of the trial. The law on this subject in England is fully discussed in the judgments of the House of Lords in Director of Public Prosecutions v. Shannon [1975] AC 717 in which there is a plea by two of the Law Lords to the effect that the scope of appeal against conviction in such an event should be extended to a case where the accused has pleaded guilty without understanding the nature of the charge or intending to admit that he was guilty. i Shannon [1975] AC 717 was applied more recently in Regina v. Whitehouse [1977] QB 868 by the Court of Appeal in England.

I have however not only extensive powers of revision in criminal proceedings under the provisions of s. 325 of the Criminal Procedure Code but even wider powers conferred by s. 35 of the Courts of Judicature Act, 1964, and the Deputy Public Prosecutor agrees that in a case like this where there is an appeal against conviction on a plea of guilty it is open to me to deal with the conviction in the exercise of my powers of revision if the circumstances of the case so warrant. I would merely add that in my view notwithstanding the provisions of s. 305 of the Criminal Procedure Code an appeal against a conviction on a plea of guilty will still lie if the charge discloses no offence in law, in which event the conviction itself would be illegal and a nullity.

It is true that the matters complained of in this appeal have been brought to my notice by way of a record of appeal and the proceedings before me are headed in the criminal appeal, but, as I pointed out to Counsel on both sides at the outset of this hearing, it is nevertheless open to me notwithstanding this to exercise my powers of revision in this matter, and I referred in this regard to the decision of the Privy Council in Re Chunbidya & Ors. [1934] 62 IA 36 to the effect that when the High Court has before it on appeal a record of criminal proceedings, it can proceed to exercise its powers of revision if it chooses to do so and make the requisite order although precluded by another provision in the Criminal Procedure Code from doing so in the appeal.

Adverting now to the facts of this matter: what happened was that the two appellants were produced before another President of the Sessions Court on 2 June. The first appellant pleaded guilty to the two charges against him and then added that he was only making a joke, as he put it. That President as a result rejected his plea of guilty, adjourned the case