A significant ruling from the Supreme Court has ensured that the fight for justice does not fade away with the death of a victim. The Court has clarified that when a victim dies during the pendency of an appeal challenging an accused’s acquittal, their legal heirs can step into their place and continue the case.
The bench, led by Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan, underscored that the right to appeal under the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure would be rendered meaningless if heirs were barred from pursuing a victim’s appeal. The Court noted that Parliament had deliberately expanded the definition of “victim” to include not just the injured individual but also their legal heirs—making it clear that justice should not be stifled by death.
The case at hand involved a layered tragedy. After the acquittal of the accused, the deceased’s son—himself injured in the incident—filed an appeal. When he later passed away, his own son, also injured in the same attack, sought to substitute himself to carry the appeal forward. The accused argued that under Section 394(2) CrPC, such appeals abate on the death of the appellant, except in cases where convicted persons appeal against their own conviction.
Rejecting this interpretation, the Court stressed that the 2009 amendment granting victims the right to appeal was an independent and substantive right, not tethered to the life of the original appellant. If heirs are permitted to file such appeals from the outset, the Court reasoned, it would be contradictory to deny them the right to continue one that has already been filed.
The judgment noted that, in this instance, the applicant was both an heir and an injured victim in the incident of 1992. Even if he had not been personally injured, his position as heir would have been sufficient to continue the appeal. The Court’s words made it clear: heirs are not mere spectators in the justice process—they carry forward the victim’s voice.
This ruling sets an important precedent, ensuring that appeals against acquittals are not extinguished with the passing of the original victim, but may endure through their heirs, keeping alive the pursuit of accountability.
