TMI Blog1958 (2) TMI 44X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nuary 25, 1954, filed a. petition of appeal on behalf of that State. A plain copy of the judgment sought to be appealed from was filed with that petition. The High Court office immediately made a note that the copy of the judgment filed along with the petition of appeal did not appear to be a certified copy. After the judicial records of the case had been received by the High Court, an application for a certified copy of the judgment of the trial court was made on behalf of the State on February 12, 1954. The certified copy was received by the Deputy Government Advocate on February 23,1954 and he presented it before the High Court (in February 25, 1954, when Harish Chandra J. made an order that the certified copy be accepted and that three days further time be granted to the appellant for making an application under s. 5 of the Indian Limitation Act for condoning the delay in the filing of the certified copy. Accordingly an application for the condonation of delay was made by the appellant on the same day and that application was directed to be laid before a Division Bench for necessary orders. The application came up for hearing before a Division Bench consisting of M. C. Desa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the judgment or order appealed against, and, in cases tried by a jury, a copy of the heads of the charge recorded under section 367. The sole question raised in this appeal is whether this section requires a petition of appeal to be accompanied by a certified copy of the judgment or order appealed from. It will be noticed that the section requires a copy of the judgment to be filed along with the petition of appeal. There can be no doubt that the ordinary dictionary meaning of the word copy is a reproduction or transcription of an original writing. As the section does not, in terms, require a certified copy, it is urged on behalf of the appellant that the word copy with reference to a document has only one ordinary meaning namely: a transcript or reproduction of the original document and that there being nothing uncertain or ambiguous about the word copy , no question of construction or interpretation of the section can at all arise. It is contended that it is the duty of the court to apply its aforesaid ordinary and grammatical meaning to the word copy appearing in s. 419 and that it should be held that the filing of a plain copy of the judgment along with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iled with the record of proceedings and becomes a part of the record and remains in the custody of the officer who is in charge of the records. Under s. 371, when an accused is sentenced to death and an appeal lies from such judgment as of right, the court is to inform him of the period within which he may, if he so wishes, prefer his appeal and when he is sentenced to imprisonment a copy of the findings and sentence must as soon as may be after the delivery of the judgment be given to him free of cost without any application. This, however, is without prejudice to his right to obtain free of cost on an application made by him, a copy of the judgment or order and in trials by jury a copy of the heads of charge to the jury. The copy that is supplied to the accused under sub-s. (4) of s. 371 is not a full copy of the entire judgment, but the copies supplied to him under subss. (1) and (2) of s. 371 on application made by him are full copies of the judgment or the heads of the charge to the jury as the case may be. The copy of the findings and the sentence which is supplied to the accused under sub-s. (4) without his asking for the same is presumably to enable him to decide f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ified in those articles. Obviously it may take a little time to apply for and procure a certified copy. In order that the full period of limitation be available to the intending appellant s. 12 of the Limitation Act permits the deduction of the time requisite for obtaining the copy of the judgment or the heads of charge in ascertaining whether the appeal is filed within time. A certified copy of the judgment will on the face of it show when the copy was applied for, when it was ready for delivery and when it was actually delivered and the court may at a glance ascertain what time was requisite for obtaining the copy so as to deduct the same from the computation of the period of limitation. Taking all relevant facts into consideration, namely, that a St copy of the judgment has to be filed along with the petition of appeal, that the copies of the judgment which the accused gets free of cost under s. 371 (1) and (2) read with s. 76 of the Indian Evidence Act and which the State can obtain on an application made by it under s. 76 of the last mentioned Act can only be certified copies, that the time requisite for obtaining such copies is to be excluded from the computation of the per ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed copy ipso facto and without anything more will show ex facie that it is a correct copy on which the appellate court may safely act. The fact that the appellate court is by law enjoined to peruse the copy of the judgment and take judicial decision on it indicates that it must have before it a correct copy of -the judgment and this further indicates that the copy required to be filed with the petition of appeal under s. 419 should be a certified copy which will ipso facto assure the appellate court of its correctness. It is said that the appellate court may not summarily reject or admit the appeal or make an inter locutory order until the record is produced or until a certified copy of the judgment or order is presented before it. There is no doubt that the court can under s. 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure call for the record of the case, but the court is not bound to do so. The calling for the records in every case or keeping the proceedings in abeyance until a certified copy is presented before the court is bound to involve delay and there is no apparent reason why there should be any delay in disposing of criminal matters involving the personal liberty of the convict ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , which at best is secondary evidence, is admissible under the Indian Evidence Act. As already stated the judgment, which under s. 367 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has to be in writing and under s. 372 has to be filed with the record of the proceedings, becomes, under s. 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, a public document. As the original judgment is a public document within the meaning of s. 74, only a certified copy of such document and no other kind of secondary evidence is admissible under S. 65. This circumstance also indicates that the word copy in s. 419 means, in the context, a certified copy and so it was held in Ram Lat v. Ghanasham Das (A.I.R. (1923)Lab. 150). The decision in Firm Chhota LalAmba Parshad v. Firm Basdeo Mal-Hira Lal (A.I.R. (1926) Lah. 404), proceeded on its peculiar facts, namely , that no certified copy could be obtained as the original judgment could not be traced in the record and the decision can be supported on the ground that the court had, in the circumstances, dispensed with the production of a certified copy. Learned counsel for the appellant next urges that the fact that the appellate court to which the petition of appeal is presented ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the appellate court. Section 442 requires the High Court to certify its decision on revision to the court by which the finding, sentence or order revised was recorded or passed. Lastly s. 511 lays down the mode of proof of a previous conviction or acquittal, namely, by the production of an extract certified under the hand of the officer having the custody of the records of the court to be a copy of the sentence or order. Therefore, the four sections relied on do not in reality refer to certified copy of a judgment or order supplied to a party on his application for such copy and consosuently no argument such as has been sought to be raised is maintainable. The question whether a copy in a particular section means a plain copy or a certified copy must depend on the subject or context in which the word copy is used in such section. In many sections relied on, the copy is intended to serve only as a notice to the person concerned or the public and is not intended to be acted upon by a court for the purpose of making a judicial order thereon. We think that N. U. Beg J. rightly pointed out that the object and purpose of such sections are distinguishable from those of s. 419 whe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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