256. Powers of Confirming or Appellate Authority. (1) The Court of Appeal upon a judgement being submitted to it for confirmation or an appeal from the High Court and the High Court from the county Court when an appeal is submitted it from the County Court Judge and the County Court Judge or a Magistrate of the first class as the case may be after receiving a petition of appeal from Payam Court may call for the record of proceedings and exercise the following Powers:(a) he may confirm the finding and the sentence, if any; (b) he may confirm a finding of guilty and alter the sentence by remitting the punishment in whole or in part or by commuting a sentence of imprisonment into a sentence of imprisonment for a shorter period and a fine or into a sentence of fine only, or in case in which the conditions of section 24 are fulfilled, may direct that the offender be released on his entering into such a bond as is provided for and subject to such conditions as are set out in section 24, and the Court of Appeal may commute a sentence of death into a sentence of imprisonment and fine or into a sentence of imprisonment only or of fine only. (c) He may alter a finding of guilty of one offence to a finding of guilty of another offence of which the Court could on the charge and evidence before it have found the offender guilty, provided that such offence is not punishable with any greater punishment than is prescribed for the offence of which the Court found the offender guilty, and thereupon he shall if necessary alter the sentence so as to make it conform to the punishment prescribed for the offence mentioned in the altered finding and may in so doing exercise all or any of the powers of alteration provided in paragraph (b); (d) He may send back the finding whether of guilty or not guilty or the sentence for revision once only, and if the finding only is sent back for revision the Court shall have power without any direction to revise and if it thinks fit to increase the sentence awarded (if any) or if there has been no sentence to award one; provided always that it shall not be lawful for any Court on revision to receive any additional evidence unless expressly authorized by the Court of Appeal, the High Court or the County Judge as the case may be; (e) He may refuse confirmation of the finding whether of guilty or not guilty, the refusal of confirmation of a finding shall have the effect of annulling the proceedings so far as they relate to that finding and upon refusal of confirmation of a finding of guilty the accused shall be released, but such refusal of confirmation shall not prevent his subsequent retrial if ordered by a competent authority; 85