Peechu Majhwar vs State Of Chhattisgarh
2025 Latest Caselaw 2278 Chatt

Chattisgarh High Court

Peechu Majhwar vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 5 March, 2025

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                                                                                      NAFR

                      HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR



                                       CRA No. 835 of 2023


             Peechu Majhwar S/o Ranga Majhwar Aged About 28 Years R/o Parpatiya
             (Basaihapara), Police Station - Kamleshwarpur, District - Surguja,
             Chhattisgarh.
                                                                             ... Appellant


                                                 versus


             State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Office, Police Station -
             Kamleshwarpur, District - Surguja, Chhattisgarh.
                                                                       ... Respondent

Order Sheet

Digitally signed by 05/03/2025 Heard Mr. Bharat Rajput, learned counsel for the PRAVEEN KUMAR SINHA Date:

2025.03.06 appellant and Mr. Hariom Rai, learned Panel Lawyer, 12:01:52 +0530

appearing for the State/respondent on the instant

application for suspension of sentence and grant of bail

(I.A. No. 01 of 2023).

By the impugned judgment of conviction and order of

sentence dated 13/03/2023 passed in Sessions Trial No.

134/2022, the learned Third Additional Sessions Judge,

Sarguja (Ambikapur) C.G, has convicted and sentenced

the appellant in the following manner:

Conviction Sentence Fine In default of under (Rigorous payment of Section imprisonment) fine add.

R.I. Section 307 5 years Rs. 500/- 2 months

Learned counsel for the convict/appellant argued that

the appellant has been sentenced to undergo RI for 5

years for the offence punishable under Section 307 of IPC,

out of which, he has already served out 2 years and 4

months of jail sentence. 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. Hariom Rai, 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 almost 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

28.04.2025. 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 2023 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)

Praveen Chief Justice