Haripada Maity and Another vs State of West Bengal

P.N. Sinha, J.—Mr. Bagchi, the learned Advocate for the appellants submitted that against the order of conviction and sentence passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, 2nd Court, Contai, the petitioner preferred the appeal before the learned Sessions Judge, Purba Medinipur being Criminal Appeal No. 2/07. In the appeal, the petitioners prayed for bail and also suspension of sentence u/s 389(1) of the Cr PC. The learned Sessions Judge admitted the appeal and transferred the appeal also to the Court of the learned Additional Sessions Judge at Contai for disposal but rejected their prayer for suspension of sentence. According to Mr. Bagchi, the sentence u/s 306 of IPC was only 4 years which is a term sentence and in view of the decision of the Hon''ble Supreme Court in Bhagwan Rama Shinde Gosai and Others Vs. State of Gujarat, . In a matter of such nature the Court may consider suspension of sentence and bail prayer of the appellant during the pendency of the appeal. On the contrary, the learned Advocate for the State drew my attention to several pages of the judgment of the learned Court below and submitted that there are sufficient materials against the appellants and it is not at all a fit case to suspend the sentence of the appellants and to enlarge them on bail.

After hearing the submission of the learned Advocates for the parties and going through the judgment of the learned Court below, I find that the appellants were on bail all along and the sentence was term sentence for 2 years only for the offence u/s 498A of the IPC and 4 years for the offence u/s 306 of the IPC.

Considering the nature of evidence as are revealing from the judgment of the learned Court below, I am of the opinion that in this matter this Court can exercise its power u/s 389(2) of the Cr PC. In my opinion, it is a fit case where during pendency of the appeal the sentence of the appellants may be suspended. Accordingly, during pendency of the appeal, the sentence of the appellants be suspended and the appellants/petitioners be released on bail to the satisfaction of the learned ACJM, Contai.

Accordingly, the application is disposed of.