- (1.) The appellant Nirbhay Singh was tried before the Court of Session, Ujjain, for causing the death of Bhagwanti--his mother--by inflicting injuries to her with a spear. The Sessions Judge convicted the appellant of the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for seven years. An appeal preferred by the appellant from jail was summarily dismissed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on March 16, 1965. Thereafter the State of Madhya Pradesh preferred an appeal on March 31, 1965, against the order acquitting the appellant of the offence of murder. The High Court issued notice to the appellant and after hearing counsel for the State and the appellant set aside the order of acquittal and convicted the appellant of the offence of murder, and in substitution of the order of sentence imposed by the Court of Session sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life. The appellant has appealed to this Court with special leave.
(2.) Counsel for the appellant urged that the judgment of the High Court dated March 16, 1965, dismissing the appellant's appeal from the order of conviction under Section 304 Part II I.P. Code became final, and that the judgment of the Court of Session got merged into the judgment of the High Court and thereafter the High Court was incompetent in an appeal filed by the State to modify that order and convict the appellant for the offence of murder. Counsel relied in support of his contention upon Sections 369 and 430 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 369 provides : "Save as otherwise provided by this Code or by any other law for the time being in force or, in the case of a High Court by the Letters Patent or other instrument constituting such High Court, no court, when it has signed its judgment, shall alter or review the same, except to correct a clerical error."
(3.) Section 430 provides : "Judgments and orders passed by an Appellate Court upon appeal shall be final, except in the cases provided for in Section 417 and Chapter XXXII.";