Death Does Not End A Complainant's Appeal Against An Acquittal
A man who had appealed his case's acquittal died in 2024. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has let his legal heirs step into his place and carry the appeal on.
The Court held, following Khedu Mohton v. State of Bihar, that a criminal appeal filed by a complainant does not abate on his death. With the plea supported by an affidavit and a legal heirs certificate showing the applicants are the only legal representatives, they have a right to pursue the appeal and were permitted to do so, with an amended memo of parties to be filed in two weeks.
- The appeal survives the appellant. It does not abate on the complainant's death.
- Proof is simple but necessary — an affidavit plus a legal heirs certificate did it here.
- The line of authority is old and settled, running from Ashwin Nanubhai Vyas through Jimmy Jahangir Madan.
- Heirs must apply themselves — in one cited case, applications filed by power-of-attorney holders were faulted.
- Court
- High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla
- Bench
- Justice HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KAINTHLA
- Citation
- Cr. M.P. No. 5056 of 2025
- Case
- Cr. M.P. No. 5056 of 2025
- Decided
- 9 September 2026
- Outcome
- Application allowed; legal heirs permitted to pursue the appeal
What happened
The original complainant, who had appealed against a judgment acquitting the accused, died in March 2024, leaving the applicants as his legal heirs.
When the matter was listed in August 2025, his counsel wrote a registered letter to ascertain his status, and the legal heirs informed him of the death. They then applied to be substituted and permitted to continue the appeal.
No reply to the application was filed despite repeated opportunities, and the right to file one was closed in July 2026.
The rule
It was laid down by the Supreme Court in Khedu Mohton v. State of Bihar that a criminal appeal filed by the complainant does not abate on his death.
The Court traced the same principle through Ashwin Nanubhai Vyas v. State of Maharashtra, where a Magistrate was held to have the power to permit a relative to act as the complainant and continue the prosecution, and Jimmy Jahangir Madan v. Bolly Cariyappa Hindley, where an heir of the complainant was held entitled to apply under Section 302 of the Code to continue it.
In Jimmy Jahangir Madan the Court noted a practical limit — there the heirs had not filed the applications themselves; they had been filed by power-of-attorney holders.
The order
The plea of the applicants was duly supported by an affidavit and by a legal heirs certificate showing that they are the only legal representatives left behind by the appellant.
The applicants therefore have a right to pursue the appeal. The application was allowed and they were permitted to do so.
Necessary entries are to be made in the memo of parties, with the amended memo to be filed within two weeks. The criminal appeal itself will be listed for hearing in due course.
Who argued it
Appearances as recorded in the judgment of the Court.
Frequently asked
Does a complainant's criminal appeal end when he dies?
No. The Supreme Court has held such an appeal does not abate on the complainant's death.
Who can continue it?
His legal heirs, on proof that they are his legal representatives, applying themselves for permission.
Stepping into a deceased complainant's appeal
- File the application in the heirs' own names, not through a power-of-attorney holder.
- Annex the death certificate, an affidavit, and a legal heirs certificate naming every representative.
- Cite Khedu Mohton for the proposition that the appeal does not abate at all.
- Ask in the same application for the memo of parties to be amended, so the appeal can be listed without a further step.
Source. High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla, Cr. M.P. No. 5056 of 2025, decided 9 September 2026 by Justice HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KAINTHLA. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.
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