Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Del) 809

2026 DHC 4157
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
CHANDRASEKHARAN SUDHA, J.
Rajan - Appellant
Versus
State - Respondent
CRL.A. No.1195 of 2019
Decided On : 12-05-2026
Advocates Appeared :
For the Appellant : Mr. Shannu Baghel, Ms. Sonam Tomar and Mr. Ganpat Ram, Advocates along with appellant’s wife in person.
For the Respondent : Mr. Utkarsh, APP for the State., Mr. Harsh Prabhakar, Advocate (DHCLSC) with Mr. Dhruv Chaudhary, Mr. Shubham Sourav and Mr. Vijit Singh, Advocates for victim.

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Shannu Baghel, Sonam Tomar, Ganpat Ram
For the Respondents: Utkarsh, Harsh Prabhakar, Dhruv Chaudhary, Shubham Sourav, Vijit Singh

The systematic filing of recurring interim bail applications based on identical or unsubstantiated medical grounds, coupled with a history of failing to surrender on time, constitutes an abuse of the process of law, justifying the dismissal of such applications on the grounds of lack of bona fides.

Headnote:The applicant moved an application under S. 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking interim suspension of sentence to provide care for his ailing mother who was scheduled for surgery. The applicant had been convicted for offences under S. 376(2)(g), 342, 506 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. The Court observed the history of repeated bail applications filed by the applicant since 2019, many of which shared identical medical grounds that frequently failed to materialize. The Court found a pattern of abuse of process, noting instances where the applicant failed to surrender after the expiry of interim relief. The issues before the Court were whether the applicant made out a genuine case for medical urgency and whether his prior conduct warranted further relief. The Court reasoned that the recurring nature of the applications, combined with the gravity of the offence and the applicant's failure to adhere to court-mandated surrender dates, demonstrated a lack of bona fides and systemic abuse of the legal process. The application was dismissed with costs of ₹25,000.

Table of Content
1. nature of the application and the underlying conviction. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. the medical necessity argued versus the medical facts reported. (Para 4 , 5 , 21)
3. the history of successive bail applications and compliance issues. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20)
4. finding of bad faith and abuse of judicial process. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25)

JUDGMENT :

CHANDRASEKHARAN SUDHA, J.

CRL.M.(BAIL) 920/2026 in CRL.A. 1195/2019

1. This application under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Cr.PC.) has been filed by the appellant, accused No. 1 (A1), in SC No.1345/2016 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ-07, POCSO), Special Court, South-East District, Saket Courts, New Delhi, seeking interim suspension of sentence for 8 weeks to enable him to attend and take care of his mother during her surgery scheduled on 09.05.2026 and her post operative surgery.

2. As per the impugned judgment dated 30.08.2019, the applicant/appellant herein has been found guilty of the offences punishable under Sections 376(2)(g), 342, 506 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (the IPC). Vide the order on sentence dated 07.09.2019, he has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years and fine of Rs.30,000 and in default of payment of fine, simple imprisonment of 1 year for the offence punishable under Section 376(2)(g) IPC; simple imprisonment of 1 year for the offence punishable under Section 342 IPC read with 34 IPC and simple imprisonment of 2 years for the offence punishable under Section 506 IPC. The sentences have been directed to run concurrently. Hence, the maximum period of imprisonment to be served is twenty years.

3. The prosecution case is that on the intervening night of 21.06.2010 and 22.06.2010, at House No. RZ-316, Tughlakabad Extension, New Delhi, accused no. 1/appellant herein along with accused no. 2, criminally intimidated and, wrongfully confined the victim aged 14 years old and then committed gang rape on her.

4. It was submitted by the learned counsel for the applicant/appellant that the applicant’s mother is suffering from gall bladder stone/cholelithiasis and her surgery is scheduled to be done on 09.05.2026. He is the only son and there is no other effective family support available to attend to her during the pre- operative and post-operative period. Annexure A-1, establishes the seriousness of the applicant/appellant’s mother’s condition and the urgency of his presence.

5. The application is opposed by the learned Additional Public Prosecutor (APP), who submitted that no sufficient grounds have been made out by the appellant in this application and that the appellant has been repeatedly seeking the relief of interim suspension on similar grounds. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor drew the attention of this Court to the various applications moved by the applicant/appellant and the orders thereon. Hence, it was submitted that there is no bona fides in the present application and so the same is liable to be dismissed with costs.

6. Heard both sides.

7. In order to dispose the application on hand, it is necessary to refer to the earlier applications moved and the orders passed on the same. CRL.M.B. No.1831/2019, the application moved for regular suspension along with the appeal is seen dismissed by order dated 17.10.2019. Immediately thereafter, that is on 14.11.2019, CRL.M.B.2032/2019, the first application seeking interim bail for eight weeks was moved. Paragraph 2 of the said application reads thus:

“That the mother of the appellant is suffering from cholecystitis with cholelithiasis with hepatomegaly fatty liver with contracted kidney RT with small renal calculus RT. The doctors of HAMDARD INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH, HAMDARD NAGAR, NEW DELHI has suggested her Lap/open cholecystectomy cholelithiasis for 29.11.2019 in the Hospital HAMDARD INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH, HAMDARD NAGAR, NEW DELHI which is e

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