Dileep.A.K vs State Of Kerala
2024 Latest Caselaw 6071 Ker

Kerala High Court

Dileep.A.K vs State Of Kerala on 23 February, 2024

                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                  PRESENT
                 THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P.G. AJITHKUMAR
         Friday, the 23rd day of February 2024 / 4th Phalguna, 1945
                            CRL.A NO.1082 OF 2023

           SC 983/2017 OF FAST TRACK SPECIAL COURT, THALIPARAMBA

APPELLANT/ACCUSED:

     DILEEP A.K.,AGED 38 YEARS, S/O. KUNHIRAMAN, CONTRACT WORK, ATHILAT
     HOUSE, PAYYAVOOR AMSOM, PONNUMPARAMBU, UPPUPADANNA, POST PAYYAVOOR,
     KANNUR DISTRICT, PIN - 670001.

RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:

     STATE OF KERALA
     REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA,
     ERNAKULAM, KOCHI, PIN - 682031.


     This Criminal appeal coming on for orders upon perusing the appeal
and upon hearing the arguments of M/S.M.SASINDRAN,SATHEESHAN ALAKKADAN,
Advocates for the appellant and of the PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the
respondent,the court passed the following:




                                                                      P.T.O.
                    P.G. AJITHKUMAR, J.
  -----------------------------------------------------------
                Crl.Appeal No.1082 of 2023
  -----------------------------------------------------------
        Dated this the 23rd day of February, 2024

                          ORDER

The appellant has filed Crl.M.A.No.1 of 2024 seeking

suspension of sentence. He earlier had filed Crl.M.A.No.1 of

2023 for the same relief and that petition was dismissed as

per the order dated 07.12.2023, after considering the

contentions on either side. When such an order was rendered

on merits, a second application for the same relief is not

appropriate. In the absence of any change in circumstances,

such as a considerable period of sentence has already

undergone by the petitioner and so on and so forth, a petition

for suspension of sentence cannot be considered on merits.

The learned counsel for the petitioner drew my attention

to the order of the Apex Court dated 02.02.2024 in Crl.Appeal

No.579 of 2024, wherein it was observed that when there is a

fixed term of sentence and especially when the appeal is not

likely to be heard before completing the entire period of

sentence, normally the sentence shall be suspended. In that

case, the appellant was sentenced to undergo imprisonment

for a period of five years and he had been in detention for

more than half of the period. In that context, the Apex Court

held so. The aforesaid proposition of law cannot be applied

here when an earlier petition was already dismissed on merits

and the sentence imposed as per the impugned judgment

dated 23.06.2023 is 10 years.

In view of the above, the learned counsel for the

appellant would submit that the appeal may be listed for

hearing at the earliest.

Since the application for suspension of sentence is

already dismissed, the Registry is directed to call for the trial

court records and list the appeal for hearing in the month of

April, 2024.

Sd/-

P.G. AJITHKUMAR, JUDGE dkr

23-02-2024 /True Copy/ Assistant Registrar