Aasif @ Pasha vs. State of U.P. 2025 INSC 944 - S.389 CrPC - Suspension Of Sentence

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 389 - When a convicted person is sentenced to a fixed period of sentence and when he files an appeal under any statutory right, suspension of sentence should be considered by the Appellate Court liberally unless there are exceptional circumstances.- Of course, if there is any statutory restriction against suspension of sentence, it is a different matter - Similarly, when the sentence is life imprisonment, the consideration for suspension of sentence could be of a different approach- But if for any reason the sentence of a limited duration cannot be suspended, every endeavour should be made to dispose of the appeal on merits, more so when a motion for expeditious hearing of the appeal is made in such cases - otherwise the very valuable right of the appellant would be an exercise in futility by afflux of time -When the Appellate Court finds that due to practical reasons, such appeals cannot be disposed of expeditiously, the Appellate Court must show special concern in the matter of suspending the sentence so as to make the appeal right, meaningful and effective. At the same time, the appellate courts can impose similar conditions when appeal is granted. (Para 12-18)

Practice and Procedure - It is very important to first look into the subject-matter. Thereafter the court should look into the issue involved. In the last the court should look into the plea of the litigant and then proceed to apply the correct principles of law. (Para 23)

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