The rule of ‘double jeopardy’ proscribes a person from being tried in respect of the same charges for which he has been tried earlier and acquitted or convicted.
A person accused of an offence is entitled to enter peremptory plea of “autrefois acquit” or “autrefois convict” (autrefois means “previously” in french).
Thereby pleading that the accused has already been acquitted or convicted of the same offence for which he is now been tried and thus cannot be proceeded against for the second time. This rule of ‘double jeopardy’ is embodied in Article 20 (2) of the Constitution of India which reads as- No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
Delhi High Court in Bhupinder Singh v. Punjab & Sind Bank, decided on 22 April, 2015 held that the rule of double jeopardy is founded identity of offences and not the commonality of facts. The essential conditions for invoking the rule of’ double jeopardy’ is that the offence for which a person is accused must be the same offence for which he has been tried earlier and acquitted or convicted as the case may be.
,%203(7),%203(8),%203(9)%20-Vs-%20IPC%20Section%2035,%2036,%2037,%2038.png)
