Supreme Court Abates Criminal Appeal Due to Death of Sole Respondent: State of U.P. vs. Mithun Singh (2021)

Date of the Judgment: 24 September 2021
Citation: Not Available
Judges: C.T. Ravikumar, J.
What happens to a criminal appeal when the accused dies? The Supreme Court of India recently addressed this question in a case where the sole respondent passed away during the pendency of the appeal. The Court had to decide whether to continue the appeal or declare it abated. This blog post will delve into the details of this case, the legal implications, and the final decision of the Supreme Court. The judgment was delivered by a single-judge bench of Justice C.T. Ravikumar.

Case Background

The State of Uttar Pradesh filed a criminal appeal before the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Mithun Singh by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. Mithun Singh was the sole accused in the case. During the pendency of the appeal, the State of Uttar Pradesh filed an application (I.A. NO. 80032/2021) informing the Supreme Court that Mithun Singh had passed away and submitted his death certificate as proof.

Timeline

Course of Proceedings

The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad had acquitted Mithun Singh in Criminal Appeal No. 6617/2017. The State of Uttar Pradesh, dissatisfied with the High Court’s decision, filed a criminal appeal before the Supreme Court. However, during the pendency of the appeal, the State informed the Supreme Court that the sole respondent, Mithun Singh, had died.

Legal Framework

The judgment primarily deals with the legal principle of abatement of criminal proceedings upon the death of the accused. While the judgment does not cite specific sections of a statute, the general principle is that a criminal appeal against an acquittal abates upon the death of the sole respondent. This is because the purpose of criminal proceedings is to punish the guilty, and that purpose cannot be achieved when the accused is deceased.

Arguments

The State of U.P. submitted that the sole respondent, Mithun Singh, had died on 28.10.2019. They presented his death certificate to the Supreme Court as proof. Based on this fact, the State argued that the criminal appeal against Mithun Singh should be abated.

There were no counter arguments since the respondent had passed away.

Issues Framed by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court did not explicitly frame any issues. However, the implicit issue before the Court was:

1. Whether the criminal appeal against the sole respondent should be abated due to his death.

Treatment of the Issue by the Court

The following table demonstrates how the Court decided the issue:

Authorities

No authorities (cases or legal provisions) were cited in this judgment.

Judgment

The Supreme Court, after considering the death certificate of the sole respondent, Mithun Singh, ordered that the criminal appeal against him was abated. The court accepted the submission of the State of U.P. that the appeal could not proceed against a deceased person.

The Court did not cite any authorities in this case.

What weighed in the mind of the Court?

The primary factor that weighed in the mind of the Court was the undisputed fact of the death of the sole respondent, Mithun Singh. The Court recognized that a criminal appeal against an acquittal cannot proceed when the accused is deceased. The court’s decision was based on the fundamental principle that criminal proceedings are meant to punish the guilty, and this purpose cannot be achieved when the accused is no more. The Court’s decision was solely based on the fact of the death of the respondent, and no other legal principles were considered.

The Court’s reasoning was straightforward and based on the established principle that criminal proceedings abate upon the death of the accused. The Court did not delve into any complex legal analysis or interpretation of statutes or precedents. The decision was a direct consequence of the factual situation presented before the Court.

“Now the appellant has filed an application ( I.A. NO. 80032/2021) stating that the appeal is abated against the sole respondent and has produced the death certificate of the sole respondent as Annexure A1. It would reveal the death of the sole respondent on 28.10.2019.”

“In the light of the above circumstances, Criminal appeal No.198/2021 against the sole respondent(Mithun Singh) stands abated.”

Key Takeaways

• ✓ A criminal appeal against an acquittal abates upon the death of the sole respondent.
• ✓ The death certificate of the respondent is sufficient proof for the abatement of the appeal.
• ✓ The purpose of criminal proceedings is to punish the guilty, which cannot be achieved when the accused is deceased.

Directions

No specific directions were given by the Supreme Court in this case.

Specific Amendments Analysis

There is no specific amendment discussed in the judgment.

Development of Law

The ratio decidendi of this case is that a criminal appeal against an acquittal abates upon the death of the sole respondent. This decision reinforces the existing legal position on the abatement of criminal proceedings and does not introduce any new legal principles. There is no change in the previous position of law.

Conclusion

In the case of State of U.P. vs. Mithun Singh, the Supreme Court abated the criminal appeal filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh against the acquittal of Mithun Singh by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The abatement was due to the death of Mithun Singh, the sole respondent, during the pendency of the appeal. The Court’s decision was based on the established legal principle that criminal proceedings abate upon the death of the accused.