Sec.389 of Cr.P.C. - Stay of Sentence convicted under Sections 147, 148, 302/144 IPC read with Section - Grounds for gratning - Apex court held that He has been working as a Principal and if the conviction is not stayed, he will lose his job, will be denied of his livelihood and he would not be in a position to participate in subsequent selection procedures conducted by the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board, Allahabad are not the grounds for granting stay as he was convicted under sec.302 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo for life imprisonment =
It
is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that he is
innocent.
He has been working as a Principal and if the conviction is not
stayed, he will lose his job, will be denied of his livelihood and he would
not be in a position to participate in subsequent selection procedures
conducted by the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board,
Allahabad.
We are afraid none of these contentions can be appreciated. The appellant
has been convicted under Sections 147, 148, 302/144 IPC read with Section
120B IPC and is sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
‘Convict’ means declared to be guilty of criminal offence by the verdict of
court of law. That declaration is made after the court finds him guilty of
the charges which have been proved against him. Thus, in effect, if one
prays for stay of conviction, he is asking for stay of operation of the
effects of the declaration of being guilty. =
It has been consistently held by this Court that unless there are
exceptional circumstances, the appellate court shall not stay the
conviction, though the sentence may be suspended.
There is no hard and fast
rule or guidelines as to what are those exceptional circumstances.
However,
there are certain indications in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
itself as to which are those situations and a few indications are available
in the judgments of this Court as to what are those circumstances.
It may be noticed that even for the suspension of the sentence, the court
has to record the reasons in writing under Section 389(1) Cr.PC.
Couple of
provisos were added under Section 389(1) Cr.PC pursuant to the
recommendations made by the Law Commission of India and observations of
this Court in various judgments, as per Act 25 of 2005.
It was regarding
the release on bail of a convict where the sentence is of death or life
imprisonment or of a period not less than ten years.
If the appellate court
is inclined to consider release of a convict of such offences, the public
prosecutor has to be given an opportunity for showing cause in writing
against such release.
This is also an indication as to the seriousness of
such offences and circumspection which the court should have while passing
the order on stay of conviction. Similar is the case with offences
involving moral turpitude. If the convict is involved in crimes which are
so outrageous and yet beyond suspension of sentence, if the conviction also
is stayed, it would have serious impact on the public perception on the
integrity institution. Such orders definitely will shake the public
confidence in judiciary.
That is why, it has been cautioned time and again
that the court should be very wary in staying the conviction especially in
the types of cases referred to above and it shall be done only in very rare
and exceptional cases of irreparable injury coupled with irreversible
consequences resulting in injustice.=
In the light of the principles stated above, the contention that the
appellant will be deprived of his source of livelihood if the conviction is
not stayed cannot be appreciated.
For the appellant, it is a matter of
deprivation of livelihood but he is convicted for deprivation of life of
another person.
Until he is otherwise declared innocent in appeal, the
stain stands. The High Court has discussed in detail the background of the
appellant, the nature of the crime, manner in which it was committed, etc.
and has rightly held that it is not a very rare and exceptional case for
staying the conviction.
We do not, thus, find any merit in the appeal and the same is accordingly
dismissed. However, we make it clear that the observations in this judgment
are only for the purpose of this order and they shall have no bearing while
hearing the appeal.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1515 OF 2014
[Arising out of S.L.P. (Criminal) No.5654 of 2014 CRLMP No. 8191 of 2014]
Shyam Narain Pandey … Appellant (s)
Versus
State of U.P. … Respondent (s)
J U D G M E N T
KURIAN, J.:
Delay condoned.
Leave granted.
Scope of stay of conviction under Section 389(1) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Cr.PC’), is the subject matter
of this appeal.
Appellant was tried along with six others by the Court of Additional
Sessions Judge, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He was convicted under Sections
147, 148, 302/144 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) (hereinafter
referred to as ‘IPC’) read with Section 120B IPC with life imprisonment and
fine. He was granted bail by order dated 29.08.2012 by the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad. Thereafter, the appellant filed an application for
staying the judgment of conviction which was dismissed by the impugned
order dated 07.08.2013.
By a separate order, we have cancelled the bail granted to the appellant in
view of non-compliance of first proviso to Section 389(1) Cr.PC and the
matter has been remitted to the High Court for fresh consideration. Be that
as it may, the High Court has considered in detail the application made by
the petitioner for staying the conviction and has declined the relief. It
is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that he is
innocent. He has been working as a Principal and if the conviction is not
stayed, he will lose his job, will be denied of his livelihood and he would
not be in a position to participate in subsequent selection procedures
conducted by the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board,
Allahabad.
We are afraid none of these contentions can be appreciated. The appellant
has been convicted under Sections 147, 148, 302/144 IPC read with Section
120B IPC and is sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
‘Convict’ means declared to be guilty of criminal offence by the verdict of
court of law. That declaration is made after the court finds him guilty of
the charges which have been proved against him. Thus, in effect, if one
prays for stay of conviction, he is asking for stay of operation of the
effects of the declaration of being guilty.
It has been consistently held by this Court that unless there are
exceptional circumstances, the appellate court shall not stay the
conviction, though the sentence may be suspended. There is no hard and fast
rule or guidelines as to what are those exceptional circumstances. However,
there are certain indications in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
itself as to which are those situations and a few indications are available
in the judgments of this Court as to what are those circumstances.
It may be noticed that even for the suspension of the sentence, the court
has to record the reasons in writing under Section 389(1) Cr.PC. Couple of
provisos were added under Section 389(1) Cr.PC pursuant to the
recommendations made by the Law Commission of India and observations of
this Court in various judgments, as per Act 25 of 2005. It was regarding
the release on bail of a convict where the sentence is of death or life
imprisonment or of a period not less than ten years. If the appellate court
is inclined to consider release of a convict of such offences, the public
prosecutor has to be given an opportunity for showing cause in writing
against such release. This is also an indication as to the seriousness of
such offences and circumspection which the court should have while passing
the order on stay of conviction. Similar is the case with offences
involving moral turpitude. If the convict is involved in crimes which are
so outrageous and yet beyond suspension of sentence, if the conviction also
is stayed, it would have serious impact on the public perception on the
integrity institution. Such orders definitely will shake the public
confidence in judiciary. That is why, it has been cautioned time and again
that the court should be very wary in staying the conviction especially in
the types of cases referred to above and it shall be done only in very rare
and exceptional cases of irreparable injury coupled with irreversible
consequences resulting in injustice.
In Ravikant S. Patil v. Sarvabhabhouma S. Bagali[1], a three-Judge Bench of
this Court has held that the power to stay the conviction … “should be
exercised only in exceptional circumstances where failure to stay the
conviction would lead to injustice and irreversible consequences”. In
Navjot Singh Sidhu v. State of Punjab and another[2], following Ravikant
S. Patil case (supra), at paragraph-6, this Court held as follows:
“6. The legal position is, therefore, clear that an appellate court can
suspend or grant stay of order of conviction. But the person seeking stay
of conviction should specifically draw the attention of the appellate court
to the consequences that may arise if the conviction is not stayed. Unless
the attention of the court is drawn to the specific consequences that would
follow [pic]on account of the conviction, the person convicted cannot
obtain an order of stay of conviction. Further, grant of stay of conviction
can be resorted to in rare cases depending upon the special facts of the
case.”
In State of Maharashtra through CBI, Anti Corruption Branch, Mumbai v.
Balakrishna Dattatrya Kumbhar[3], referring also to the two
decisions cited above, it has been held at paragraph-15 that:
“15. …the appellate court in an exceptional case, may put the conviction in
abeyance along with the sentence, but such power must be exercised with
great circumspection and caution, for the purpose of which, the applicant
must satisfy the court as regards the evil that is likely to befall him, if
the said conviction is not suspended. The court has to consider all the
facts as are pleaded by the applicant, in a judicious manner and examine
whether the facts and circumstances involved in the case are such, that
they warrant such a course of action by it. The court additionally, must
record in writing, its reasons for granting such relief. Relief of staying
the order of conviction cannot be granted only on the ground that an
employee may lose his job, if the same is not done.”
In State of Maharashtra v. Gajanan and another[4], and Union of India v.
Atar Singh and another[5], cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988, this court had to deal with specific situation of loss of job and it
has been held that it is not one of exceptional cases for staying the
conviction.
In the light of the principles stated above, the contention that the
appellant will be deprived of his source of livelihood if the conviction is
not stayed cannot be appreciated. For the appellant, it is a matter of
deprivation of livelihood but he is convicted for deprivation of life of
another person. Until he is otherwise declared innocent in appeal, the
stain stands. The High Court has discussed in detail the background of the
appellant, the nature of the crime, manner in which it was committed, etc.
and has rightly held that it is not a very rare and exceptional case for
staying the conviction.
We do not, thus, find any merit in the appeal and the same is accordingly
dismissed. However, we make it clear that the observations in this judgment
are only for the purpose of this order and they shall have no bearing while
hearing the appeal.
..………….……….J.
(M.Y. EQBAL)
……….………...…J.
(KURIAN JOSEPH)
New Delhi;
July 22, 2014.
-----------------------
[1] (2007) 1 SCC 673
[2] (2007) 2 SCC 574
[3] 2012(12) SCC 384
[4] (2003) 12 SCC 432
[5] (2003) 12 SCC 434
-----------------------
REPORTABLE
It
is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that he is
innocent.
He has been working as a Principal and if the conviction is not
stayed, he will lose his job, will be denied of his livelihood and he would
not be in a position to participate in subsequent selection procedures
conducted by the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board,
Allahabad.
We are afraid none of these contentions can be appreciated. The appellant
has been convicted under Sections 147, 148, 302/144 IPC read with Section
120B IPC and is sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
‘Convict’ means declared to be guilty of criminal offence by the verdict of
court of law. That declaration is made after the court finds him guilty of
the charges which have been proved against him. Thus, in effect, if one
prays for stay of conviction, he is asking for stay of operation of the
effects of the declaration of being guilty. =
It has been consistently held by this Court that unless there are
exceptional circumstances, the appellate court shall not stay the
conviction, though the sentence may be suspended.
There is no hard and fast
rule or guidelines as to what are those exceptional circumstances.
However,
there are certain indications in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
itself as to which are those situations and a few indications are available
in the judgments of this Court as to what are those circumstances.
It may be noticed that even for the suspension of the sentence, the court
has to record the reasons in writing under Section 389(1) Cr.PC.
Couple of
provisos were added under Section 389(1) Cr.PC pursuant to the
recommendations made by the Law Commission of India and observations of
this Court in various judgments, as per Act 25 of 2005.
It was regarding
the release on bail of a convict where the sentence is of death or life
imprisonment or of a period not less than ten years.
If the appellate court
is inclined to consider release of a convict of such offences, the public
prosecutor has to be given an opportunity for showing cause in writing
against such release.
This is also an indication as to the seriousness of
such offences and circumspection which the court should have while passing
the order on stay of conviction. Similar is the case with offences
involving moral turpitude. If the convict is involved in crimes which are
so outrageous and yet beyond suspension of sentence, if the conviction also
is stayed, it would have serious impact on the public perception on the
integrity institution. Such orders definitely will shake the public
confidence in judiciary.
That is why, it has been cautioned time and again
that the court should be very wary in staying the conviction especially in
the types of cases referred to above and it shall be done only in very rare
and exceptional cases of irreparable injury coupled with irreversible
consequences resulting in injustice.=
In the light of the principles stated above, the contention that the
appellant will be deprived of his source of livelihood if the conviction is
not stayed cannot be appreciated.
For the appellant, it is a matter of
deprivation of livelihood but he is convicted for deprivation of life of
another person.
Until he is otherwise declared innocent in appeal, the
stain stands. The High Court has discussed in detail the background of the
appellant, the nature of the crime, manner in which it was committed, etc.
and has rightly held that it is not a very rare and exceptional case for
staying the conviction.
We do not, thus, find any merit in the appeal and the same is accordingly
dismissed. However, we make it clear that the observations in this judgment
are only for the purpose of this order and they shall have no bearing while
hearing the appeal.
2014 July. Part – http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/filename=41782
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1515 OF 2014
[Arising out of S.L.P. (Criminal) No.5654 of 2014 CRLMP No. 8191 of 2014]
Shyam Narain Pandey … Appellant (s)
Versus
State of U.P. … Respondent (s)
J U D G M E N T
KURIAN, J.:
Delay condoned.
Leave granted.
Scope of stay of conviction under Section 389(1) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Cr.PC’), is the subject matter
of this appeal.
Appellant was tried along with six others by the Court of Additional
Sessions Judge, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He was convicted under Sections
147, 148, 302/144 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) (hereinafter
referred to as ‘IPC’) read with Section 120B IPC with life imprisonment and
fine. He was granted bail by order dated 29.08.2012 by the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad. Thereafter, the appellant filed an application for
staying the judgment of conviction which was dismissed by the impugned
order dated 07.08.2013.
By a separate order, we have cancelled the bail granted to the appellant in
view of non-compliance of first proviso to Section 389(1) Cr.PC and the
matter has been remitted to the High Court for fresh consideration. Be that
as it may, the High Court has considered in detail the application made by
the petitioner for staying the conviction and has declined the relief. It
is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that he is
innocent. He has been working as a Principal and if the conviction is not
stayed, he will lose his job, will be denied of his livelihood and he would
not be in a position to participate in subsequent selection procedures
conducted by the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board,
Allahabad.
We are afraid none of these contentions can be appreciated. The appellant
has been convicted under Sections 147, 148, 302/144 IPC read with Section
120B IPC and is sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
‘Convict’ means declared to be guilty of criminal offence by the verdict of
court of law. That declaration is made after the court finds him guilty of
the charges which have been proved against him. Thus, in effect, if one
prays for stay of conviction, he is asking for stay of operation of the
effects of the declaration of being guilty.
It has been consistently held by this Court that unless there are
exceptional circumstances, the appellate court shall not stay the
conviction, though the sentence may be suspended. There is no hard and fast
rule or guidelines as to what are those exceptional circumstances. However,
there are certain indications in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
itself as to which are those situations and a few indications are available
in the judgments of this Court as to what are those circumstances.
It may be noticed that even for the suspension of the sentence, the court
has to record the reasons in writing under Section 389(1) Cr.PC. Couple of
provisos were added under Section 389(1) Cr.PC pursuant to the
recommendations made by the Law Commission of India and observations of
this Court in various judgments, as per Act 25 of 2005. It was regarding
the release on bail of a convict where the sentence is of death or life
imprisonment or of a period not less than ten years. If the appellate court
is inclined to consider release of a convict of such offences, the public
prosecutor has to be given an opportunity for showing cause in writing
against such release. This is also an indication as to the seriousness of
such offences and circumspection which the court should have while passing
the order on stay of conviction. Similar is the case with offences
involving moral turpitude. If the convict is involved in crimes which are
so outrageous and yet beyond suspension of sentence, if the conviction also
is stayed, it would have serious impact on the public perception on the
integrity institution. Such orders definitely will shake the public
confidence in judiciary. That is why, it has been cautioned time and again
that the court should be very wary in staying the conviction especially in
the types of cases referred to above and it shall be done only in very rare
and exceptional cases of irreparable injury coupled with irreversible
consequences resulting in injustice.
In Ravikant S. Patil v. Sarvabhabhouma S. Bagali[1], a three-Judge Bench of
this Court has held that the power to stay the conviction … “should be
exercised only in exceptional circumstances where failure to stay the
conviction would lead to injustice and irreversible consequences”. In
Navjot Singh Sidhu v. State of Punjab and another[2], following Ravikant
S. Patil case (supra), at paragraph-6, this Court held as follows:
“6. The legal position is, therefore, clear that an appellate court can
suspend or grant stay of order of conviction. But the person seeking stay
of conviction should specifically draw the attention of the appellate court
to the consequences that may arise if the conviction is not stayed. Unless
the attention of the court is drawn to the specific consequences that would
follow [pic]on account of the conviction, the person convicted cannot
obtain an order of stay of conviction. Further, grant of stay of conviction
can be resorted to in rare cases depending upon the special facts of the
case.”
In State of Maharashtra through CBI, Anti Corruption Branch, Mumbai v.
Balakrishna Dattatrya Kumbhar[3], referring also to the two
decisions cited above, it has been held at paragraph-15 that:
“15. …the appellate court in an exceptional case, may put the conviction in
abeyance along with the sentence, but such power must be exercised with
great circumspection and caution, for the purpose of which, the applicant
must satisfy the court as regards the evil that is likely to befall him, if
the said conviction is not suspended. The court has to consider all the
facts as are pleaded by the applicant, in a judicious manner and examine
whether the facts and circumstances involved in the case are such, that
they warrant such a course of action by it. The court additionally, must
record in writing, its reasons for granting such relief. Relief of staying
the order of conviction cannot be granted only on the ground that an
employee may lose his job, if the same is not done.”
In State of Maharashtra v. Gajanan and another[4], and Union of India v.
Atar Singh and another[5], cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988, this court had to deal with specific situation of loss of job and it
has been held that it is not one of exceptional cases for staying the
conviction.
In the light of the principles stated above, the contention that the
appellant will be deprived of his source of livelihood if the conviction is
not stayed cannot be appreciated. For the appellant, it is a matter of
deprivation of livelihood but he is convicted for deprivation of life of
another person. Until he is otherwise declared innocent in appeal, the
stain stands. The High Court has discussed in detail the background of the
appellant, the nature of the crime, manner in which it was committed, etc.
and has rightly held that it is not a very rare and exceptional case for
staying the conviction.
We do not, thus, find any merit in the appeal and the same is accordingly
dismissed. However, we make it clear that the observations in this judgment
are only for the purpose of this order and they shall have no bearing while
hearing the appeal.
..………….……….J.
(M.Y. EQBAL)
……….………...…J.
(KURIAN JOSEPH)
New Delhi;
July 22, 2014.
-----------------------
[1] (2007) 1 SCC 673
[2] (2007) 2 SCC 574
[3] 2012(12) SCC 384
[4] (2003) 12 SCC 432
[5] (2003) 12 SCC 434
-----------------------
REPORTABLE
