independent right, and must be interpreted within that framework. Section 372 forbids appeals unless otherwise authorized by the Code, or by another law. The proviso, however, states that the victim shall have the right to appeal under certain circumstances. Given the rule enacted in Section 372, it cannot be said that the proviso to that provision carves out an exception to the rule. According to the rule in Section 372, appeals must be in accordance with the Code; according to the proviso - which is itself part of the Code - victims have the right to appeal under certain circumstances. At various other places in the CrPC, appeal procedures are specified. For instance, Section 378 stipulates the procedure in case of appeals from acquittal, and Section 378(3) specifies that ―no appeal under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be entertained except with leave of the High Court.‖ The proviso to Section 372 dispenses with the requirement of leave in case it is the victim who is appealing. From the scheme of the Act, therefore, it seems clear that the proviso is better understood to be one of the many provisions governing appeals under Chapter 29 of the CrPC. While Section 372 enacts that no appeal shall lie except as provided for by the Code, it refers to the various provisions of Chapter 29, including the proviso, each of which prescribe the requirements and procedures for appeals under different circumstances. The proviso, therefore, is not an exception to Section 372, but a stand-alone legal provision.
