The Supreme Court of India held that Limitation Act is applicable to CrPC.It further held that the Limitation Act is applicable to a special law unless specifically excluded.
The case involves an appeal against acquittal under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), where the appellant sought condonation of delay. The main issue was whether Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 could be applied to such appeals. The appellant argued that since Section 378(5) of the CrPC prescribes a period for filing an appeal against acquittal without provision for condonation of delay, Section 5 of the Limitation Act wouldn’t apply. However, the Supreme Court held that unless a special law expressly excludes it, Section 5 of the Limitation Act can be utilized. The court distinguished previous cases like Kaushalya Rani v. Gopal Singh, indicating changes in the law regarding the applicability of Section 5.
Ultimately, the court dismissed the appeal, affirming that Section 5 of the Limitation Act can be invoked in appeals against acquittal under Section 378 of the CrPC.