SYED IBRAHIM Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application by P. W. 1 in S. C. No. 6 of 1956 on the file of the sessions Judge of West Tanjore for leave to appeal under Clause (3) of Section 417 Crl. P. C. against the acquittal of the respondent.

(2.) THE respondent was tried on a charge of murder. The case was instituted upon a police charge-sheet. It is respresented that P. W. 1, the brother of the deceased, was the person, who gave the first information to the village munsif, which resulted subsequently in investigation by the police and the filing of the charge-sheet by them. Section 417 Crl. P. C. deals with appeals against acquittals. Under clause (1) of Section 417, the State Government is given power to direct the public Prosecutor to present an appeal to the High Court from an original or appellate order of acquittal passed by any court other than High Court. We are not concerned with Clause (2) of Section 417, as it deals with the investigation by the Delhi Special Police Establishment. Under Clause (3) of section 417, if an order of acquittal is passed in any case instituted upon complaint and the High Court, on an application made to it by the complainant in this behalf, grants special leave to appeal from the order of acquittal the complainant may present such an appeal to the High Court It is clear from the provisions of this clause that acquittal should have been passed in any case instituted upon a complaint. "complaint" had been defined in Section 4 (1) (h) Crl. P. C. and it is as follows:

(3.) MR. V. T. Rangaswami Aiyanger invites our attention to the expression 'complaint' used in Section 250 Crl. P. C. prior to the amendment of the Criminal procedure Code in 1923. Then the provision was as follows: