Karnataka High Court refuses to entertain govt. appeal filed after 381 days against acquittal of six persons for insulting Scheduled Caste person
'...the framers of legislation have made a proviso wherein there is a total bar for entertaining the appeal after 180 days. Therefore, in view of the statutory bar, the delay of 381 days in filing the appeal cannot be condoned,' the court said.
Justice V. Srishananda passed the order while dismissing an appeal filed by the State government against the September 7, 2023 verdict of a sessions court in Yadgiri district, acquitting six persons from the charges of insulting a member of the SC community in public view and other offences alleged to have been committed in 2014.
The State Public Prosecutor (SPP) had argued that taking away the right of appeal only on the ground of technicality would be harsh in a given case and substantial justice would be denied to a complainant only on the technical ground of limitation of 180 days.
However, the court pointed out that Section 14-A(2) of the 1989 Act provides only 90 days to file an appeal before the High Court against the judgement of the trial courts while granting liberty to the HC to condone the delay, after the expiry of the period of 90 days if it [HC] is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within 90 days.
As a provision to Section 4(3) of the Act makes it clear that 'no appeal shall be entertained after the expiry of the period of 180 days', the court said that it has no jurisdiction in law to entertain the appeal after 180 days.
Meanwhile, the court said that it would be open for the SPP to bring to the notice of the State legislature on requirement to amend the statute, if need be, to provide a remedy for a litigant in such circumstances, where the delay occurs on account of the reasons that are not attributable to a negligent litigant, but on account of bonafide reasons.
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