Forty-Two Years Later They Are Innocent. Most Of Them Did Not Live To Hear It.
Fifteen men appealed a Sessions Court conviction of September 1984. The cause title now reads 'since deceased' against most of the names. The conviction has been quashed.
The Court held the conviction not sustainable: while recording it, the trial court had not recorded a whisper of a finding that the appellants were guilty of causing mischief by setting fire to destroy a building used as a residence, a place of worship, a human dwelling or for the custody of property. The appeal was allowed, the 1984 judgment quashed and set aside, and the appellants acquitted and set at liberty forthwith.
- The ingredient was never found. A conviction cannot rest on a charge the judgment does not actually make out.
- Seven of fifteen appellants survive to furnish the bonds; the rest are recorded as deceased, some through legal representatives.
- Section 437-A bonds still apply — now Section 481 of the BNSS — Rs 25,000 each with surety, for six months.
- Forty-two years from the Sessions Judge's judgment of 17 September 1984 to this one.
- Court
- High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur
- Bench
- Justice MAHENDAR KUMAR GOYAL, Justice PRAMIL KUMAR MATHUR
- Citation
- D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 434 of 1984
- Case
- D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 434 of 1984
- Decided
- September 2026
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed; conviction quashed and appellants acquitted
What the trial court never found
The Court was unable to concur with the conclusion of the trial court.
While recording the conviction under the provisions concerned, the trial court had not recorded a whisper of a finding that the appellants were guilty of causing mischief by setting fire to destroy any building used by the victims as a residence, or a place of worship, or a human dwelling, or for the custody of property.
In the absence of such a finding, the conviction is not sustainable.
The order, and who is left to receive it
The appeal was allowed and the judgment of 17 September 1984 of the Sessions Judge, Tonk, in a sessions case of 1982, was quashed and set aside. The appellants were acquitted of the charges framed against them.
All the appellants being on bail, their bail bonds stand discharged, and they are set at liberty forthwith if not required to be detained in any other case.
Under Section 437-A of the Code, now Section 481 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seven named appellants were directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25,000 each with a surety in the like amount within four weeks, effective for six months, so that they appear before the Supreme Court should a Special Leave Petition be filed and leave granted. The remaining appellants are recorded in the cause title as having died during the pendency, some appearing through legal representatives.
Who argued it
Appearances as recorded in the judgment of the Court.
Frequently asked
Can a conviction stand if the judgment does not find the ingredients?
No. The Court held the conviction unsustainable where no finding on the essential ingredient was recorded.
Why must an acquitted person still furnish a bond?
Under Section 437-A of the Code, now Section 481 of the BNSS, so that they appear if the State appeals to the Supreme Court.
Reviving a decades-old criminal appeal
- Read the trial judgment for the ingredients it actually finds, not the sections it cites; the gap is often the whole appeal.
- Bring the record up to date on the appellants — deaths, legal representatives, and who remains to be released.
- Expect Section 481 BNSS bonds even on acquittal, and arrange sureties before the judgment.
- Ask for liberty forthwith in terms, subject only to detention in another case.
Source. High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur, D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 434 of 1984, decided September 2026 by Justice MAHENDAR KUMAR GOYAL, Justice PRAMIL KUMAR MATHUR. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.
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