ZEN GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES Vs. P.N. SHIVAPRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals have been preferred by the victims of crimes challenging the acquittal of the accused recorded by respective trial Courts.

(2.) These cases were originally instituted before the Courts concerned by way of private complaints by the victims for various offences. Aggrieved over the findings of the trial Court acquitting the respective accused, the victims have come up with these appeals, on presumption that under the proviso to section 372 of the Cr.P.C, 1973 the appeal will lie only to this Court. Since doubt was raised earlier regarding jurisdiction of this Court to entertain such appeals, the Hon'ble single Judge of this Court referred the issue to a Full Bench and the Full Bench of this court by judgment dated 05.04.2016 in S. Ganapathy v. Senthil Vel reported in 2016 (4) CTC 119, answered the reference holding that,

(3.) Thus, as per the conclusion arrived at by the Full Court in the reference cited above, the victim of a crime, who initiated prosecution of the accused by filing a private complaint, can prefer appeal, in the event of acquittal of the accused by the trial Court, only to the respective Sessions Court. The same is clear from the proviso to section 372 of Cr.P.C., 1973 Following the conclusion of the Full Bench in the reference cited above, a single Judge of this Court (S. Nagamuthu, J.) in the case reported in D. Prabhu v. R. Manikandan 2016 (3) MWN (Cr) DCC 169 (Mad), by order dated 14.11.2016, held that the appeals preferred against acquittal of the accused in the proceedings initiated by private complainant will lie only to the respective Sessions Courts and the same would not lie before this Court.