A second acquittal appeal is impermissible once a coordinate bench has affirmed the acquittal.

The appellant, complainant/victim Bajrang Singh, preferred an acquittal appeal under Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the judgment dated 29 May 2017 passed by the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Ambikapur, in Sessions Trial No. 619/2013.

By that judgment, Respondents 2 to 5 were acquitted of charges under Sections 294 and 307 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code on the ground that they were entitled to the benefit of doubt.

The State had independently challenged the same acquittal judgment in Acquittal Appeal No. ACQA/35/2018, State of Chhattisgarh v. Manish Tiwari & Others.

A coordinate Division Bench dismissed that appeal by a reasoned judgment dated 1 August 2025, thereby affirming the trial court’s acquittal.

Neither the State nor the appellant/complainant/victim further challenged that decision.

Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits a victim to prefer an appeal against an order of acquittal, subject to the statutory requirements.

However, once the same acquittal judgment has been considered and affirmed by a competent coordinate Division Bench in an appeal preferred by the State, and that decision has attained finality, the same judgment cannot be assailed again in another appeal on the same facts and circumstances.

Re-entertaining such a challenge would be legally impermissible and could produce contradictory judicial findings.

No separate precedent was relied upon by the Court.

The Court accepted that the appellant had invoked Section 372 CrPC as a complainant/victim, but held that the statutory right of appeal could not be used to reopen an acquittal already affirmed by a coordinate Division Bench.

The State’s appeal had comprehensively challenged the trial court’s acquittal, and its dismissal on merits on 1 August 2025 affirmed the acquittal judgment dated 29 May 2017.

Since neither the State nor the appellant challenged the coordinate Bench’s decision, the acquittal had attained finality.

Entertaining the present appeal would therefore permit a second challenge to the same judgment and create the possibility of contradictory findings.

Accordingly, Acquittal Appeal No. 167 of 2017 was dismissed, with the parties directed to bear their own costs.