Courts Can't Enhance Sentence in Appeal by Accused, SC Rules

A person who challenges their conviction cannot be punished more harshly in return, the Supreme Court has ruled, holding that a court cannot enhance a sentence in an appeal filed by the accused unless the prosecution or complainant has independently sought a stiffer jail term.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

The ruling reinforces a key safeguard in criminal jurisprudence that the right to appeal should not carry the risk of harsher punishment, leaving an accused worse off, and that courts cannot exercise revisional powers on its own motion to increase punishment without a formal challenge.