(1)At the hearing of an appeal, the appellate court shall²⁰²¹must²⁰²¹ hear the appellant or his²⁰²¹the appellant’s²⁰²¹ advocate, if he²⁰²¹the appellant or the appellant’s advocate²⁰²¹ appears, and if it thinks fit, the respondent or his²⁰²¹the respondent’s²⁰²¹ advocate, if he²⁰²¹the respondent or the respondent’s advocate²⁰²¹ appears, and shall²⁰²¹must²⁰²¹ hear the appellant or his²⁰²¹the appellant’s²⁰²¹ advocate in reply.

(2)If the appellant is in custody and does not appear at the hearing to support his²⁰²¹the appellant’s²⁰²¹ appeal in person or by advocate, the appellate court may consider his²⁰²¹the appellant’s²⁰²¹ appeal and may make such order as it thinks fit.

(3)If the appellant is not in custody but fails to appear at the hearing of the appeal, the appellate court may dismiss the appeal, except that the court may reinstate the appeal if the appellant subsequently appears before the court and satisfies the court that his²⁰²¹the²⁰²¹ non-appearance²⁰²¹appellant’s non‑appearance²⁰²¹ was not due to his²⁰²¹the appellant’s²⁰²¹ fault.