Revisiting Sentence hearing by Appellate Courts: A Case Study

Every criminal trial is a journey to discover who is guilty or innocent. A judge presides over a criminal trial not merely to see that a guilty man does not escape, he also supervises it that no innocent man is punished. At the culmination of a criminal trial the judge shall prepare a judgment, either of acquittal or conviction. Sentence hearing follows an order of conviction. When an unmerited acquittal results from a trial court, the prosecution or the victim of crime is to file an appeal against such order of acquittal. If the appellate court passes a conviction order reversing the acquittal, the appellate court is bound to conduct a sentence hearing. This paper examines a recent case decided by the Supreme Court of India in which the High Court fails to conduct such a hearing.