The court may suspend a sentence pending appeal if the appellant has served a significant portion of the sentence and the appeal is not likely to be heard soon, and further incarceration is not warranted.

CRM-46671-2022

This is an application on behalf of the applicant-appellant Sachin Kumar @ Subash son of Sh. Dharambir Singh for suspension of his substantive sentence. The applicant has been convicted and sentenced vide judgment and order dated 24.02.2022 as under:-

The appeal has been admitted by this Court vide order dated 06.05.2022.

2. The custody certificate dated 03.05.2023 has been placed on record as per which the accused has undergone 01 year and 09 months out of his awarded sentence of 05 years.

3. The brief facts of the case are that while complainant Anupama was standing in front of the temple and talking on the mobile phone, one unknown person came on a motor cycle , snatched her phone from her hand and thereafter fled away. Pursuant to the registration of the FIR, the applicant was arrested and after completion of the investigation the report under Section 173 Cr.PC was filed. On the culmination of the trial, the applicant came to be convicted and sentenced as above.

4. The Counsel for the applicant-appellant inter alia contends that he has been falsely implicated in the present case. His identification has not been established in accordance with law as there were material contradictions between the statements of witnesses and documents prepared during the course of investigation. There was no evidence regarding ownership of the mobile phone. As the applicant had undergone 01 year and 09 months of imprisonment out of the awarded sentence of 05 years, he was entitled to the concession of suspension of sentence.

5. The learned Counsel for the State on the other hand contends that the grounds raised by him in the present application have been dealt with comprehensively by the Trial Court while convicting him. He contends that the criminal antecedents of the applicant did not entitle him to the concession as prayed for. He however concedes the custody period undergone by the applicant.

6. I have heard learned Counsel for the parties.

7. Admittedly the appeal pertains to the year 2022 and is therefore not likely to be taken up for final hearing anytime soon. The applicant has otherwise, undergone total custody of 01 year & 09 Months out of the substantive sentence of 05 years. The applicant has thus undergone 1/3rd of his substantive sentence of 05 years. Therefore, his further incarceration in the present case is not warranted.

8. Therefore, without commenting on the merits of the case the present application is allowed and the sentence of the applicant-appellant-Sachin Kumar @ Subash son of Sh. Dharambir Singh is suspended during pendency of the appeal, subject to his furnishing personal/ surety bonds to the satisfaction of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate concerned.

9. If the applicant/appellant indulges in the commission of any offence while on bail, the State would be at liberty to move an application for cancellation of his bail granted vide this order.

CRM-46671-2022 stands disposed of.

Order accordingly.