Kerala High Court Rules Criminal Appeals Post-July 1, 2024 Must Follow BNSS Procedures
The Kerala High Court has ruled that criminal appeals filed on or after July 1, 2024, will be governed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), rather than the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). This applies even if the judgment of conviction being appealed was delivered before July 1.
Justice PG Ajithkumar specified that any appeal filed on or after the effective date of BNSS must adhere to its procedures. This includes appeals against judgments delivered prior to July 1, as long as they are filed post-July 1.
The Court’s order clarifies that appeals filed before July 1 will continue to follow the CrPC provisions, but any subsequent filings or steps taken in those appeals will be governed by BNSS. It further stated that any filing defects cured after July 1 will relate back to the original filing date.
The ruling emerged from a case challenging a conviction delivered on June 12, 2024. The question arose whether this appeal should follow Section 415 of BNSS, which corresponds to Section 374 of CrPC. The Court observed that Section 531 of BNSS, which addresses the transition from CrPC, preserves the right to proceed according to CrPC for ongoing matters. However, further steps must adhere to BNSS.
The Court’s stance diverged from a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court decision, which deemed appeals filed after July 1 under CrPC, and those with defects cured post-July 1, non-maintainable. The Kerala High Court rejected this view, affirming that the applicable law is determined by the date of the initial presentation, not subsequent representation.
The current appeal was allowed to proceed with amendments under BNSS, emphasizing that procedural adherence to the new law is essential but should not automatically invalidate appeals. The appellant’s legal representation included Sidharth O, Anwin John Antony, PC Moideen, Susanth Shaji, Mohammed Asif P, and Albin A Joseph, while the State was represented by Public Prosecutor Sheeba Thomas.
With inputs from Agency
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