JAYACHANDRA REDDY, J.

( 1 ) WHETHER the Appellate Court, while exercising its powers under section 389 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, can suspend the execution of sentence as well as the conviction, pending an appeal preferred by a convicted person, is precisely the question that arises for our consideration in this batch of petitions.

( 2 ) THE Special Court under A. C. B. and S. P. E. Cases at Nelloreconvicted several public servants belonging to the Irrigation Department and also some contractors, for various offences of misconduct. The accused preferred appeals and also sought for suspension of the operation of the judgment, which includes the conviction as well as the sentence imposed on them by the trial Court. It may be mentioned here that the public servants involved in those cases were suspended from service, and as per the interim directions of this Court in the Writ Petitions filed by them, they were reinstated into service and as such they have been continued in servi. e.

( 3 ) THE learned Single Judge, who admitted the Criminal Appealsfiled by them, gave a direction in the Crl. M. Ps. filed by them, suspending the operation of the judgment and also the sentence, pending disposal of the criminal Appeals. Thereafter, the learned Standing Counsel for A. C. B. filed a letter, requesting the matters to be posted for being mentioned , accordingly, they came up before our learned brother Bh askar Rao, J. The learned Standing Counsel for the A. C. B. and S. P. E. cases contended before the learned Single Judge that under Sec 389 (1) Cr. P. C, the High court, as an Appellate Court, has power only to suspend execution of the sentence, and not the conviction, muchless, the judgment as a whole. On the other hand, on behalf of the accused-appellants, it was contended before the learned Single Judge that, u/s 389 (1) Cr. P C, this Court, as an Appellate court, has got ample power to suspend the operation of the judgment and that even otherwise also, this Court can invoke power u/s 482 Cr. P. C. and suspend the operation of the judgment.

( 4 ) OUR learned brother Jagannadha Raju, J in Crl. M. P. No. 1257 of1989 in Crl. Appeal No. 450 of 1989, held that u/s 389 (1) Cr. P. C, the appellate Court can suspend only the sentence but not the judgment tinder which the accused are convicted. He held that where a Government servant is convicted by a Court, the normal course that should follow is that he should be removed from service and that only when he is exonerated and acquitted in the appeal, he would be entitled to be reinstated with retrospective effect and that, therefore, there was no justification for suspending the judgment. This judgment was brought to the notice of our learned brother Bhaskar Rao, J and the learned Judge could not agree with the view taken by Jagannadha Raju, J and accordingly having explained the scope and ambit of Sec. 389 Cr. P. C, has referred this matter to a Division Bench. That is how these matters are before us.

( 5 ) SECTION 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for shortthe code ) contained in Chapter XXIX, dealing with Appeals, is in the following terms : "sec. 389. Suspension of sentence pending the appeal ; release of appellant on bail : (1) Pending any appeal by a convicted person, the Appellate Court may, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order that the execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended and, also, if he is in confinement, that he be released on bail, on his own bond. (2 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "

( 6 ) THE learned Counsel for the petitioners-accused submits that pendingan appeal by a convicted person, the Appellate Court has power to order suspension of the execution of the sentence or order appealed against . The only requirement is thai it has to record its reasons for doing so. He submits that Sec. 374

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