Section 265G CrPC: Finality of Judgment in Plea Bargaining

Section 265G of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 formed part of Chapter XXI-A on plea bargaining. It made a judgment delivered in the plea bargaining process final and barred an ordinary appeal, while expressly preserving specified constitutional remedies.

What Section 265G provided

Section 265G - Finality of the judgment.

The provision declared the judgment delivered by the Court under the plea bargaining chapter to be final. No appeal would lie against that judgment, except the remedies expressly preserved for a special leave petition under Article 136 and writ jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India.

Meaning and legal effect

The expression finality of the judgment means that the Code did not provide a regular statutory appeal from a judgment resulting from the plea bargaining procedure. The section did not, however, exclude the constitutional jurisdiction expressly mentioned in its text.

Article 136 empowers the Supreme Court, in its discretion, to grant special leave to appeal from judgments, decrees, determinations, sentences or orders of courts and tribunals, subject to the Constitution. Article 226 confers writ jurisdiction on High Courts, while Article 227 concerns the High Court's power of superintendence over courts and tribunals within its territorial jurisdiction.

Relationship with Section 265F

Section 265F dealt with the judgment of the Court in a plea bargaining case. Section 265G then attached finality to the judgment and restricted the ordinary appellate route. The provisions therefore operated consecutively within Chapter XXI-A.

Background of the plea bargaining chapter

Chapter XXI-A, containing Sections 265A to 265L, was inserted into the Code by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 2 of 2006), with effect from 5 July 2006. The chapter established a statutory procedure under which eligible accused persons could apply for plea bargaining and the Court could dispose of the case in accordance with the chapter.

Historical law note: This page explains Section 265G CrPC as applicable before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force. Under the BNSS, the plea bargaining provisions are placed in Chapter XXIII, and the corresponding provision on finality of judgment is Section 295.

Key point

A judgment under the CrPC plea bargaining framework was not open to a regular appeal merely because a party was dissatisfied with the result. Section 265G expressly preserved only the constitutional routes stated in the provision. Whether any constitutional remedy is available in a particular case depends on its facts and the governing constitutional principles.

Statutory source note: Chapter XXI-A was inserted by Act 2 of 2006, section 4, with effect from 5 July 2006.