Union Government
An appeal lies to the Supreme Court from a High Court's criminal judgment, order, or sentence if the High Court has, on appeal, reversed an acquittal and imposed a death sentence; or has withdrawn a case for trial itself and convicted and sentenced the accused to death; or certifies under Article 134A that the case is fit for Supreme Court appeal. Parliament may confer further appellate powers by law.
In serious criminal cases, an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court exists specifically where a death sentence has been imposed after a High Court reversed an earlier acquittal, or where the High Court itself tried the case and awarded a death sentence - reflecting the extreme seriousness of a death penalty case. Beyond that, the High Court can also certify other criminal cases as fit for Supreme Court appeal.
This is why death penalty cases involving a High Court's reversal of an acquittal automatically get a further right of appeal to the Supreme Court - a specific, heightened safeguard given the finality and severity of capital punishment.