INTRODUCTION
Section 420 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 forms a part of Chapter XXXII which deals with execution, suspension, remission, and commutation of sentences. This section gives a direction regarding the lodging of a warrant and says that ‘when the prisoner is to be confined in a jail, the warrant shall be lodged with the jailor’. This section gives the direction with regards to the person with whom the warrant for the execution of sentence of imprisonment has to be lodged.
WHO ISSUES WARRANT?
The warrant for the execution of the sentence is issued by the Judge or the Magistrate who has passed the sentence or by the person who succeeds him in office. When an accused is sentenced with imprisonment for life or for a particular term, the Court which passes such sentence forwards the warrant to the jail or any other place where the accused is or is to be confined and forwards the accused to such jail or another place along with the warrant. In cases where the prisoner is already confined in a jail, the warrant is to be lodged with the jailor.
TO WHOM IS WARRANT ADDRESSED?
As mentioned above, when an accused is sentenced with imprisonment and he is already confined in a jail, the warrant for his confinement is to be lodged with the jailor. The jailor is the Chief Executive Officer of the jail. The jailor is the person responsible for the custody and enforcement of warrants.
SECTION. 420 OF CrPC, 1898
According to section 420 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, ‘if the appellant is in jail, he may present his petition of appeal and the copies accompanying the same to the officer in charge of the jail, who shall thereupon forward such petition and copies to the proper Appellate Court’. This section gives the person who is in jail an opportunity to file for an appeal by presenting the requisite documents to the officer in charge of the jail who thereby forwards them to the relevant Court. As given in the case of Kunhammad Haji, In re, such appeals are commonly known as jail appeals. The appeal has to be made in the form of a petition in writing which is presented to the Court by the appellant and every petition should be accompanied by a copy of the judgment or order against which the appellant has sought an appeal.
Section 420 corresponds to section 383 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The appeals which are filed under section 383 are those appeals in which a right has been created under the Criminal Procedure Code. It is the duty of the jail authorities to ensure that the prisoner is provided with all necessary facilities that he may require for the filing of a petition of appeal under section 383. The presentation of the petition of appeal to the officer in charge is regarded the same as when it is presented to the Court. When such an appeal is received from jail, the High Court may appoint an amicus curiae to assist the Court or may send the matter to the Legal Aid Committee so that a counsel may be appointed for the purpose of representing the appellant. The accused person has only one right of appeal from the conviction and sentence passed on him as he exhausts this right when he appeals through jail authorities. Hence, the right to appeal under section 383 of the 1973 Code (erstwhile s.420 of the 1898 Code) is an important right of the convicted person as it provides legal recourse to them by way of an appeal. It is imperative that the authorities in jail act in earnest when it comes to the handling of such appeals as any discrepancy on their part may have an adverse effect on the legal right of the prisoner seeking such appeal.
This article is authored by Sahana Priya Satish student of 3rd year, B.A. LL.B.(Hons.) at Tamil Nadu National Law University
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