Liberal Approach Towards Suspension of Sentence

Source: Supreme Court 

Why in News? 

Recently, the Supreme Court in the matter of Bherulal v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh has held that the Madhya Pradesh High Court has not applied the mind while delivering the judgement and therefore the Supreme Court issued notice against the High Court and also granted bail to the petitioner subject to the conditions imposed by the trial court. 

What was the Background of the Bherulal v. The State of Madhya Pradesh   Case? 

• In this case the petitioner was a 70-year-old man who lost his eyesight by 90% and was convicted under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the trial court. 
• Two tears of sentence have been already served by the petitioner out of 4 years of rigorous imprisonment imposed on him. 
• The petitioner filed an application for suspension of his sentence which was rejected by the Madhya Pradesh High Court without giving any sufficient reasoning behind such rejection of plea. 
• In furtherance of it, the petitioner filed an appeal of the impugned judgement of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.  

What were the Court’s Observations? 

• It was observed by the Supreme Court that the High court has not applied its mind in passing of the judgement. 
• It is a clear law that the punishment imposed by trial courts for a fixed term must be taken with liberal approach by the appellate court unless exceptional circumstances infer otherwise as per section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). 
• The Supreme Court highly criticized the approach adopted by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and stated that if the High Court had applied its mind, this litigation could have easily been avoided. 
• Considering the disability of the petitioner the Supreme Court held that his release would not be in contradiction with justice and granted him bail and issued notice against the Madhya Pradesh High Court. 

What Can Be the Factors for Granting Suspension of Sentence? 

• It is righty said by the Supreme Court of India that Suspension of Sentence is not a right but a relief.  
• It is also observed that suspension shall only be granted in rarest of the rare cases considering factors and circumstances from cases to case basis. 
• The following can be such factors as inferred from various cases: 
  • The criminal history and background of the convict can be considered while granting him suspension of sentence. 
  • The gravity and seriousness of the offence for which he has been pleading for suspension. 
  • The cases where damage caused to the convict is irreversible if the suspension of sentence is not granted and the grant shall cause no harm to anyone. 

What are Provisions of Bhartiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita Related to Bherulal v. The State of Madhya Pradesh Case? 

• Section 430: Suspension of sentence pending the appeal; release of appellant on bail. 
  • 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, or on his own bond or bail bond: Provided that the Appellate Court shall, before releasing on his own bond or bail bond a convicted person who is convicted of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years, shall give opportunity to the Public Prosecutor for showing cause in writing against such release: Provided further that in cases where a convicted person is released on bail it shall be open to the Public Prosecutor to file an application for the cancellation of the bail.  
  •  The power conferred by this section on an Appellate Court may be exercised also by the High Court in the case of an appeal by a convicted person to a Court subordinate thereto.  
  • Where the convicted person satisfies the Court by which he is convicted that he intends to present an appeal, the Court shall,—  
    • where such person, being on bail, is sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years; or  
    • where the offence of which such person has been convicted is a bailable one, and he is on bail, order that the convicted person be released on bail, unless there are special reasons for refusing bail, for such period as will afford sufficient time to present the appeal and obtain the orders of the Appellate Court under sub-section (1); and the sentence of imprisonment shall, so long as he is so released on bail, be deemed to be suspended.  
  • When the appellant is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment for a term or to imprisonment for life, the time during which he is so released shall be excluded in computing the term for which he is so sentenced. 
  • This section was earlier covered under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.