Formal delivery of judgment is essential; a draft signed before a judge's death was void and the matter was remanded.

A judgment becomes legally effective only when formally delivered as the court's final decision in open court; draft reasons or signed opinions do not operate until that stage. Where one judge of a two-judge bench dies before delivery, the purported judgment cannot be treated as the court's completed act and is void. Because no valid appellate judgment came into legal existence, the confirmation of sentence also lacked effect. The appropriate course was to set aside the invalid order and remit the matter for rehearing before a properly constituted bench.

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Issues: (i) Whether a judgment signed in draft by one judge of a two-judge bench could be validly delivered after that judge died before formal delivery; (ii) whether the appeal judgment and confirmation of sentence were void and the matter had to be reheard.

Issue (i): Whether a judgment signed in draft by one judge of a two-judge bench could be validly delivered after that judge died before formal delivery.

Analysis: A judgment is the final decision of the court formally intimated in open court. Drafts, discussions, and even signed opinions do not become operative until formal delivery. Until delivery, a judge retains the power to change his mind, and the decision must be capable of being arrested before it takes effect. If a judge is no longer alive when delivery occurs, it cannot be assumed that the draft represents his final and unalterable mind. The formal act of delivery is therefore incomplete if one member of the bench has died before the judgment is pronounced as the decision of the court.

Conclusion: The purported judgment was not validly delivered and was void.

Issue (ii): Whether the appeal judgment and confirmation of sentence were void and the matter had to be reheard.

Analysis: Since the operative judgment of the High Court never came into legal existence, the conviction appeal and confirmation proceedings were left without a valid decision. The appropriate course was to set aside the invalid order and remit the matter so that a properly constituted bench could rehear and deliver a valid judgment.

Conclusion: The appeal was allowed, the High Court judgment was set aside, and the matter was remanded for rehearing.

Final Conclusion: A judicial decision becomes effective only upon formal delivery as the court's final act in open court, and a draft judgment cannot be treated as valid where a member of the bench dies before delivery.

Ratio Decidendi: The operative judgment is the court's final decision formally delivered in open court, and it is invalid if a judge who must participate in that act is no longer in existence at the time of delivery.

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