https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=187879 An appellate court should not direct acquittal in a conviction appeal merely because the trial record is unavailable. Section 386 CrPC contemplates merits-based appellate review after the record is perused and the parties are heard, so the absence of a destroyed record does not justify final disposal by acquittal. Where the record is destroyed, the court must first make genuine efforts to reconstruct it from available sources. If reconstruction succeeds, the appeal should be heard on merits; if reconstruction is not practicable, retrial may be considered where justice requires it. Only if reconstruction and retrial are both impossible should further final disposal be considered. en-us Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 10 Nov 2016 12:39:07 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=187879 An appellate court should not direct acquittal in a conviction appeal merely because the trial record is unavailable. Section 386 CrPC contemplates merits-based appellate review after the record is perused and the parties are heard, so the absence of a destroyed record does not justify final disposal by acquittal. Where the record is destroyed, the court must first make genuine efforts to reconstruct it from available sources. If reconstruction succeeds, the appeal should be heard on merits; if reconstruction is not practicable, retrial may be considered where justice requires it. Only if reconstruction and retrial are both impossible should further final disposal be considered. Case-Laws Indian Laws Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=187879