Can Appellate Courts Exceed Statutory Limits?

In Jagat Bahadur Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh relying on the decisions of various High Courts, it was held that the Appellate Court is not competent to impose a punishment higher than the maximum that could have been

imposed by the Trial Court. It was held that an Appellate Court being “a Court of error”, i.e. a Court established for correcting an error, it could not go beyond the competence of the Trial Court and if it does that, it would not be correcting an error.

The power of the Appellate Court to pass a sentence has to be measured by the power of the Court from whose judgment an appeal has been brought before it.