Appeal from acquittal:
how long do you have?
Last reviewed: 2026-08-19 · quoted from the India Code bare-Act PDF
(a) The date of the order appealed from; (b) The date of the grant of special leave.
The Schedule row, as the Act prints it
Article 114Description: Appeal from an order of acquittal,—(a) under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898); (b) under sub-section (3) of section 417 of that Code.
Period: (a) Ninety days; (b) Thirty days.
Time from which period begins to run: (a) The date of the order appealed from; (b) The date of the grant of special leave.
Open the bare Act on India Code →
In plain English
Acquittal appeals: ninety days for State appeals, thirty days for a complainant appealing after special leave. Note the India Code text still cross-refers to the 1898 CrPC as enacted; the corresponding provisions now live in the current criminal procedure code, but the Schedule's periods are as quoted.
What can reset or extend this period
General rules for entries in the Appeals division. The full statutory quotes (ss.5, 12, 18-19, 6-8) are on the finder page.
Condonation is available
Section 5 lets the court admit a late appeal on 'sufficient cause' shown for the delay. The Explanation adds that being misled by any order, practice or judgment of the High Court in computing the period may itself be sufficient cause.
Certified-copy time is excluded
s.12(2) excludes the day the judgment was pronounced and the 'time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree, sentence or order' appealed from; s.12(3) adds the time for a copy of the judgment. Time the court took to prepare the decree before you applied for a copy is NOT excluded.
No disability relief for appeals
Section 6 covers only suits and applications for the execution of decrees — not appeals. A late appeal rests on s.5 sufficient cause, not on ss.6-8.
This is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter. Limitation is brutally fact-sensitive — when the cause of action accrued, whether an acknowledgment or part-payment reset the clock, and which exclusions under ss.4-15 apply all turn on your specific facts. This page is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter, and it does not create an advocate-client relationship. A single day's error can be fatal to a claim: s.5 condonation never applies to suits, and several special-statute deadlines (Arbitration s.34(3), IBC s.61(2)) are hard ceilings no court can extend. Verify every period against the bare Act as currently amended and against current case law, and take advice on your own facts before acting. Provisions here were reviewed on 19 August 2026.