Post-trial stage in Criminal Law

Under criminal law, chiefly 3 key stages are the Pre-trial, Trial, and Post-trial stages. The post-trial stage is stipulated as the 3rd stage in criminal law, woefully, the same has not been list of criminal lawyers in bangalore explicitly mentioned under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). But to give a simple definition of post-trial it means a stage where the trial has been concluded and the judge has articulated the judgment/ verdict. According to Merriam Webster “post-trial” means happenings that take place after the conclusion of the trial stage.

Appeal on behalf of the victim
Complying with Section 372 of the CrPC, 1973 which states that “no appeal shall take place against any judgment or order except the procedure as stipulated in the 1973 Act or any other law for the time being”. The said Section stipulates that the distressed do not have the vested right to appeal till the time the appellate believes that the lower court has executed/ conducted all the proceedings honestly without any violation or infringement.

Revision application

The Court after calling on the records believes that if the accused is in confinement then he/ she shall be released on a bail bond and the court may suspend the sentence so passed by the lower jurisdiction.

The prime objective behind revision is to anticipate and dodge any miscarriage of equity/ justice committed by the inferior court. The Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the Session Court as well as the High Court to call for and look at the records of any procedure present before the lower criminal court as per Section 399 and 401.

The Supreme Court of India under the Alamgir v. State of Bihar (1959), observed that while determining the enhancement of punishment under revision application the court who is augmenting the punishment shall provide reasonable ground for such an alteration. The reason can be:

That the lower court imposed inadequate punishment on the accused or the punishment imposed was very less for the offence the accused has committed; or
That the lower court has failed to acknowledge the crucial facts and circumstances of the case and without considering them has pronounced the punishment.
Further, a revision application is basically filed when the subordinate court has pronounced the verdict and it goes against the aggrieved party and there is no provision as to appeal, in such a situation the aggrieved may file a revision application before the higher jurisdiction.

Like in appeal, the aggrieved as a matter of right may file an appeal before higher jurisdiction while in revision the aggrieved has no statutory right, and acceptance of revision application is the discretionary power of the higher court. But there are a few exceptions when this discretionary power cannot be enjoyed by the court.

Following Section 397(2) of the CrPC, 1973 the court cannot enjoy its discretionary power in case the interlocutory order, an interim order was passed in an appeal, trial, etc.
According to Section 397(3), if the same application was made under Section 397(1) before the High Court and the Session Judge then no further application shall be entertained.