Bhargav Krishna Patil vs State Of Maharashtra

The Supreme Court held that an appeal against acquittal for an offence punishable with imprisonment exceeding two years must be heard by a division bench of the High Court, as per Rule 1 of the Bombay High Court (appellate side) rules, 1960. The Court emphasized that a judgment rendered by a single judge in such cases is a nullity due to lack of jurisdiction, as established in Pandurang and Ors. v. State of Maharashtra. Consequently, the Court set aside the single judge's order and remanded the case to the High Court for hearing by a division bench.