Chattisgarh High Court
Atmaram Sonwani vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 25 February, 2025
1
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
CRA No. 613 of 2022
Atmaram Sonwani S/o Koduram Sonwani Aged About 52 Years R/o Village
Telawat, Police Station Korar, District - North Bastar Kanker (Chhattisgarh)
... Appellant
versus
State Of Chhattisgarh Through District Magistrate North Bastar Kanker
(Chhattisgarh)
... Respondent
Order Sheet
25/02/2025 Heard Mr. Awadh Tripathi, learned counsel for the
appellant and Mr. Amit Verma, learned Panel Lawyer,
appearing for the State/respondent on the instant application
for suspension of sentence and grant of bail (I.A. No. 01 of
2022).
By the impugned judgment of conviction and order of
Digitally sentence dated 04/03/2021 passed in Sessions Trial No.
signed by
PRAVEEN
KUMAR
SINHA 05/2020, the learned First Additional Sessions Judge Kanker,
Date:
2025.02.27
12:31:34
+0530 District- Uttar Bastar Kanker, C.G, has convicted and
sentenced the appellant in the following manner:
Conviction Sentence Fine In default
under (Rigorous of payment
Section imprisonment) of fine add.
R.I.
Section 304 Part-II 10 years Rs. 1,000/- 3 months
of IPC
Learned counsel for the convict/appellant argued that
the maximum sentence awarded to appellant under Section
304 Part-II of IPC is 10 years. Appellant has already served
out more than half of the sentence as he is in jail since
05.12.2019. Appeal is likely to take a couple of years or even
more in its final disposal and if the bail is not granted to the
appellant, the present appeal would become infructuous.
Learned counsel for the appellant relied upon the
judgment passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the matters of
Atul Alias Ashutosh vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2024)
3 SCC 663 and Nanhe Lal Verma vs. State of Madhya
Pradesh (Arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 14769 of
2024) decided on 25.11.2024 wherein, the Hon'ble Apex
Court has held that when there is a fixed term sentence and
especially when the appeal is not likely to be heard before
completing entire period of sentence, normally suspension of
sentence and bail should be granted.
Mr. Amit Verma, learned Panel Lawyer, appearing for
the State opposes the prayer for grant of bail.
Considering the submissions advanced by the learned
counsel for the parties, further considering the law laid down
by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Atul Alias Ashutosh (supra)
and Nanhe Lal Verma (supra), considering the fact that the
appellant has already served out more than half of the jail
sentence awarded to him and further considering that
hearing of this appeal would take prolonged period of time, if
the bail is not granted to the appellant, the present appeal
would become infructuous, as such, I deem it appropriate to
allow the application for suspension of sentence and grant of
bail moved on behalf of the appellant.
Accordingly, the substantive jail sentence awarded to
appellant by the learned trial Court is hereby suspended. He
shall be released on bail on his executing bail bond to the
satisfaction of the concerned trial Court for his appearance
before the Registry of this Court on 21.04.2025. He shall
thereafter appear before the concerned trial Court on a date
to be given by the Registry of this Court and shall continue to
appear there on all such subsequent dates as are given to
him by the said Court, interval being not less than 6 months,
till final disposal of this appeal.
Consequently, IA No. 01 of 2022 is allowed.
It is made clear that the observations made
hereinabove are only confined for disposal of aforesaid IA
filed in this appeal and it shall not be construed as an
expression of opinion of this Court on merits of the case.
List this matter for final hearing.
Certified copy, as per rules.
Sd/-Sd/-
(Ramesh Sinha)
Chief Justice
Praveen
