ORDER This revision petition filed under Sec.397, Criminal Procedure Code is directed against the order dated 12.7.1988 passed by the VII Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore in Crl.A.No.124 ofl987dismissingthesaidappeal for non-appearance of the appellant and his learned counsel on the said date and also on the previous date of hearing. 2. The facts which have given rise to this revision are as under: “Petitioner was accused in C.C.No.5922 of 1984 on the file of the V Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, Bangalore, in which he was prosecuted for offences under Secs.279 and338, Indian Penal Code. By judgment dated 30.9.1987, the learned V Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, Bangalore, convicted the petitioner accused for offences under Secs.279 and338, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs.200 for the offence under Sec.279, Indian Penal Code and Rs.1,000 for the offence under Sec.338, Indian Penal Code, in all Rs.1,200 with usual default clause. Aggrieved by the said order of conviction and sentences, the petitioner preferred Crl.A.No.124 of 1987 in the Court of the City Sessions Judge, Bangalore City. The said appeal by transfer came to the file of the VII Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore City. After some adjournments, the appeal came up for hearing the arguments on merits on 11.7.1988. On that day, neither the petitioner appellant nor his counsel appeared in Court although the appeal was called a number of times and kept by till 5 P.M However, the learned Sessions Judge adjourned the appeal to the next day i.e., 12.7.1988 as a last chance. Even on 12.7.1988 neither the petitioner appellant nor his learned counsel appeared in Court till 4.40 P.M. Therefore, the learned Sessions Judge dismissed the appeal with the following note made in the order-sheet: “Criminal appeal is dismissed for non-prosecution and also as there are no grounds to interfere with the judgment of the Court below, the appeal is accordingly dismissed.” Thereafter, petitioner-appellant engaged another advocate and filed an application under Sec.374, Criminal Procedure Code with a prayer that his appeal dismissed for default on 12.7.1988 may be restored to file and disposed of on merits in accordance with law in the interest of justice. That application was treated as I.A.No.III. That application was treated as I.A.No.III. After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner-appellant, the learned VII Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore City, by order dated 30.9.1988 dismissed I.A.No.III on the ground that there was no merit in the application filed by the appellant and that too after a lapse of two months. Therefore, the petitioner-appellant has filed this revision petition on 12.9.1988. 3. Heard Sri N.Samba Murthy, learned counsel for the petitioner-accused and Sri A.Giddappa, learned Additional State Public Prosecutors 4. Sri N.Samba Murthy submitted on the strength of a decision of the Honourable Supreme Court in Ram Naresh Yadav v. State of Bihar Ram Naresh Yadav v. State of Bihar A.I.R 1987 S.C. 1500: 1987 Crl.L.J. 1856 that dismissal of criminal appeal for default is not proper and the learned Sessions Judge should have appointed an amicus curiae to assist the Court in disposing of the appeal on merits even if the appellant and his counsel failed to appear in Court and then dispose of the appeal on merits instead of dismissing it for default. 5. On the other hand, Sri A.Giddappa, argued in support of the impugned order. 6. On consideration of the submissions made by the learned counsel on both sides, I am of the opinion that the impugned order dated 12.7.1988 of the Appellate Court deserves to be set aside. In an almost identical situation, the Honourable Supreme Court has made the following observations in the case of Ram Naresh Yadav v. State of Bihar Ram Naresh Yadav v. State of Bihar A.I.R. 1987 S.C. 1500: 1987 Crl.L.J. 1856 “It is an admitted position that neither the appellants nor counsel for the appellants in sup-. port of the appeal challenging the order of conviction and sentence were heard. It is no doubt true that if counsel do not appear when criminal appeals are called out it would hamper the working of the Court and create a serious problem for the Court. And if this happens often the working of the Court would become well’ nigh impossible. We are fully conscious of this dimension of the matter but in criminal matters the convicts must be heard before their matters are decided on merits. The Court can dismiss the appeal for non-prosecution and enforce discipline or refer the matter to the Bar Council with this end in view. We are fully conscious of this dimension of the matter but in criminal matters the convicts must be heard before their matters are decided on merits. The Court can dismiss the appeal for non-prosecution and enforce discipline or refer the matter to the Bar Council with this end in view. But the matter can be disposed of on merits only after hearing the appellant or his counsel. The Court might as well appoint a counsel at State cost to argue on behalf of the appellants. Since the order of conviction and sentence in the present matter has been confirmed without hearing either the appellants or counsel for the appellants, the order must be set aside and the matter must be sent back to the High Court for passing an appropriate order in accordance with law after hearing the appellants or their counsel and on their failure to engage counsel, after hearing counsel appointed by the Court to argue on their behalf……” In the light of the above observations, the only appropriate order that can be passed is to set aside the order Appellate Court dated 12.7.1988 and remand the matter back to it for disposal of the appeal on merit in accordance with law with the hope that the learned counsel for the petitionerappellant will not give room for such a situation as the one existed on 11.7.1988 and 12.7.1988 in future. 7. In the result, the revision petition is allowed, the order dated 12.7.1988 passed by the VII Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore City, in Crl.A.No.124 of 1987 is set aside and the matter is remanded back to that Court for fresh disposal of the appeal on merits in accordance with law and in the light of the observations made above. B.S. ----- Petition allowed.