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Shivdhar Upadhyay vs. Union of India and Anr.

Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:7414-DBDecided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(CRL) 2522/2026CNR: DLHC010387762026
Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya · Justice Tejas Karia

Background

The petitioner had been acquitted by a Magistrate of an offence under Section 509 IPC (word/act intended to insult a woman's modesty). The complainant-victim then appealed that acquittal directly to the Sessions Court under a special proviso in the criminal procedure law meant for victims, rather than going through the ordinarily stricter route (via the High Court, with its permission) that applies when the State or an ordinary complainant appeals an acquittal. The petitioner argued this special victim's-appeal route was unconstitutional, or at least should not apply to police-registered (as opposed to privately filed) cases.

Decision Breakdown

The Bench, relying heavily on recent Supreme Court rulings (Celestium Financial and Khem Singh), held that a crime victim's right to appeal an acquittal is meant to be an independent, superior right, comparable to a convicted person's unconditional right to appeal a conviction: it is not meant to be hemmed in by the same permission requirements that apply to the State or an ordinary complainant. The Bench found no discrimination or unconstitutionality in giving victims this more direct route, and also declined to read into the law a restriction limiting it only to privately-filed cases, since the law itself contains no such limitation. The petition was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

The law today treats the crime victim's voice as distinct from, and in some ways stronger than, the State's or a mere complainant's in challenging an acquittal: a victim can go straight to appeal an acquittal without first needing special court permission, reflecting a deliberate legislative choice to empower victims of crime.

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