Sections 366 and 367 CrPC: Death Sentence Confirmation and Further Inquiry
Sections 366 and 367 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 form part of Chapter XXVIII, dealing with submission of death sentences for confirmation. They prescribe mandatory High Court confirmation of a death sentence passed by a Court of Session and empower the High Court to require further inquiry or additional evidence before deciding the reference.
Section 366 CrPC - Sentence of death to be submitted for confirmation
Meaning: Section 366 creates a compulsory confirmation procedure. A death sentence imposed by a Court of Session does not become executable merely because the Sessions Court has pronounced it. The proceedings must be submitted to the High Court and the sentence cannot be executed unless the High Court confirms it.
Sub-section (1): When a Court of Session passes a sentence of death, the proceedings are submitted to the High Court, and execution must await High Court confirmation.
Sub-section (2): The sentencing court must commit the convicted person to jail custody under a warrant.
Section 367 CrPC - Further inquiry or additional evidence
Meaning: Section 367 enables the High Court, while considering a death sentence reference, to ensure that any matter bearing upon the guilt or innocence of the convicted person is adequately examined.
Sub-section (1): If the High Court considers further inquiry or additional evidence necessary on a point bearing on guilt or innocence, it may conduct the inquiry or take the evidence itself, or direct the Court of Session to do so.
Sub-section (2): Unless the High Court directs otherwise, the convicted person's presence may be dispensed with during that inquiry or while the additional evidence is taken.
Sub-section (3): Where the inquiry or evidence is undertaken outside the High Court, its result must be certified to the High Court.
How Sections 366 and 367 operate together
Section 366 initiates the statutory confirmation reference after a Sessions Court awards the death penalty. Section 367 then equips the High Court to address evidentiary or factual issues relevant to guilt or innocence before acting on the reference. The provisions therefore place an additional judicial stage between the Sessions Court's sentence and any execution of that sentence.
Key points
A death sentence passed by a Court of Session requires confirmation by the High Court. The convicted person is committed to jail custody under warrant pending the process. During the confirmation proceedings, the High Court may itself conduct further inquiry or take additional evidence, or may direct the Sessions Court to do so. The statutory focus under Section 367 is on a point bearing upon guilt or innocence.
This page is an explanatory legal article and should be read with the statutory text and the law applicable to the particular proceeding.