Quick answer
An appeal is a statutory right: under Section 413 of the B.N.S.S., no appeal lies from a criminal court's judgment or order unless the B.N.S.S. or another law provides one, and where it does, the appellate court can re-examine facts, evidence and law. Revision under Sections 438 to 445 B.N.S.S. is a discretionary supervisory power of the High Court and Sessions Judge to check the correctness, legality or propriety of a lower court's finding, sentence or order and the regularity of its proceedings. Revision cannot convert an acquittal into a conviction, and a party who could have appealed but did not cannot seek revision instead.
The law
- Section 413 B.N.S.S. (old Section 372 CrPC): no appeal except as provided by law. Its proviso gives the victim a right to appeal against an acquittal, conviction for a lesser offence or inadequate compensation.
- Section 415 B.N.S.S. (old Section 374 CrPC): appeals from convictions, for example to the High Court from a trial by a Sessions Judge or where imprisonment for more than seven years is passed.
- Section 438 B.N.S.S. (old Section 397 CrPC): the High Court or a Sessions Judge may call for the record of an inferior criminal court to satisfy itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order, and the regularity of proceedings.
- Section 442 B.N.S.S. (old Section 401 CrPC): the High Court's revisional powers. The Sessions Judge has the same powers in his revision cases under Section 440.
Key limits on revision
- No interlocutory orders: revision does not lie against an interlocutory order (an interim order made during the case) (Section 438(2)).
- One forum only: a person who has applied to the High Court or the Sessions Judge cannot apply to the other (Section 438(3)); a Sessions Judge's decision on a person's revision application is final for that person (Section 440(3)).
- No acquittal to conviction: the revisional court cannot convert a finding of acquittal into conviction (Section 442(3)).
- Hearing before prejudice: no order against the accused without giving him a hearing (Section 442(2)).
- Appeal first: where an appeal lies and none is brought, revision is not entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed (Section 442(4)); but a revision filed under an honest belief that no appeal lies may be treated as an appeal (Section 442(5)).
Appeal and revision compared
| Point | Appeal | Revision |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Statutory right, only where law provides | Discretionary supervisory power |
| Who decides | Court named by statute (Sessions Court, High Court, Supreme Court) | High Court or Sessions Judge |
| Scope | Full rehearing of facts and law in a first appeal | Correctness, legality, propriety and regularity |
| Started by | Aggrieved party, State or victim | Party application, or the court on its own when a case comes to its knowledge |
| Acquittal | Appellate court may reverse an acquittal in an appeal against acquittal | Cannot convert acquittal into conviction |
Armaan is convicted by a Sessions Judge. Section 415 gives him an appeal to the High Court, where he can challenge how the witnesses were believed. If he lets the appeal period pass and files only a revision, Section 442(4) bars it. Separately, suppose the High Court, examining the record in revision, finds that a Magistrate's acquittal of Farhan rests on a manifest error of law. Using the appellate powers that Section 442(1) borrows from Section 427, it may set aside the acquittal and order a retrial, but Section 442(3) forbids it from recording a conviction itself.
For the wider structure of the Sanhita, see the B.N.S.S. overview.
Exam point
Appeal is a creature of statute (Section 413 B.N.S.S.); revision (Sections 438 to 445) is supervisory, cannot touch interlocutory orders, cannot convert acquittal into conviction, and is barred for a party who could have appealed.
