Complaint case identity preserves special leave rights against acquittal despite evidence being recorded with a connected police case.

The statutory right to seek special leave under Section 417(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure attaches when the acquittal is in a case instituted upon complaint. The term "case" refers to the particular criminal proceeding, and its identity is not lost merely because evidence is recorded together with a connected police case. Where the complaint case and the police case remain separate proceedings with separate acquittals, the complainant's right to apply for special leave in his own case is not defeated by the parallel police prosecution. A prior revision dismissal does not extinguish that statutory right.

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Issues: Whether a complainant had locus standi to seek special leave to appeal against an acquittal under Section 417(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure when one connected case had been instituted on a police report and another on the complainant's complaint.

Analysis: The right under Section 417(3) attaches where an acquittal is passed in a case instituted upon complaint. The expression "case" in the context of the provision refers to the particular criminal proceeding and its identity is not lost merely because evidence in connected matters is recorded together. Where the complaint case and the police case retain their separate numbers and culminate in separate acquittals, the complainant's statutory right to apply for special leave in his own case is not defeated by the fact that another connected prosecution was launched by the police. The earlier dismissal of revision did not extinguish that statutory right.

Conclusion: The complainant was entitled to move the High Court under Section 417(3) in the complaint case, and the High Court's view that he had no standing was unsustainable.

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