Victim's right of appeal under Section 372 CrPC is confined to strict statutory heirs and does not apply retrospectively.

The proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 gives a victim's right of appeal only where the appellant answers the strict statutory description of "victim" or, in the case of a legal heir, is entitled to inherit the deceased's property under the applicable succession law. On that reasoning, a brother of the deceased who did not inherit because the widow survived was not treated as a legal heir for this purpose and could not maintain an appeal against acquittal. The proviso was also treated as prospective only, so it did not apply to an incident occurring before its insertion with effect from 31.12.2009.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the appellant, being the de facto complainant and brother of the deceased, fell within the definition of "victim" or "legal heir" so as to maintain an appeal against acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; (ii) Whether the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applied retrospectively to an incident that occurred before its insertion.

Issue (i): Whether the appellant, being the de facto complainant and brother of the deceased, fell within the definition of "victim" or "legal heir" so as to maintain an appeal against acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The definition of "victim" in Section 2(wa) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was treated as confined to a person who suffered loss or injury, and, in the case of a legal heir, to one who is entitled to the victim's property under the applicable law of inheritance. Since the deceased was survived by his wife, the appellant, as a Class-II heir under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, did not inherit the deceased's estate. He therefore did not answer the statutory description of a "legal heir" for the purpose of the appellate proviso.

Conclusion: The appellant was not entitled to maintain the appeal as a victim or legal heir under Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Issue (ii): Whether the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applied retrospectively to an incident that occurred before its insertion.

Analysis: The proviso conferring a right of appeal on a victim was inserted by amendment with effect from 31.12.2009. The incident in question occurred earlier, and the amendment was treated as not governing pre-amendment occurrences. On that footing, the statutory right of appeal created by the proviso was unavailable to the appellant.

Conclusion: The proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 did not apply to the present case.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed both on maintainability and on the temporal reach of the amended provision, and the acquittal remained undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A right of appeal under the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is available only to a victim or legal heir within the strict statutory sense, and the proviso does not operate retrospectively to incidents preceding its commencement.

---