Hasn't Laid Down That Sentence Can Be Suspended Only If Half Term Is Undergone : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently clarified that it has not laid down any proposition that post-conviction bail can be granted only if the convict has undergone half of the sentence.

While considering a petition challenging the refusal of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to suspend sentence, the Court observed that the High Court has misunderstood its decision in Atul @ Ashutosh v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2024). In that judgment, the Court had held that sentence should be normally suspended when the convict's appeal is unlikely to be heard in the near future. Considering the fact that the appellant in that case had underwent half the sentence period, the Court granted him bail.

In the present case, the Court observed that the judgment in Atul@Ashutosh cannot be construed as holding that the convict should undergo half the sentence period to seek bail.

"We may also note here that the High Court has not correctly read the order of this Court in the case of Atul alias Ashutosh v. State of Madhya Pradesh1. In the facts of the case, the accused had undergone half of the sentence. However, this Court has not laid down that the case for bail can be considered only after undergoing half of the sentence," the bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih observed.

Considering the fact that the maximum sentence of the punishment in the instant case is 4 years and that the criminal appeal filed by the appellant in the High Court in 2024 is unlikely to be heard soon, the Court allowed the suspension of sentence, subject to the conditions imposed by the trial court.

Case : Nanhe Lal Verma v. State of Madhya Pradesh

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 925

Click here to read the judgment