Case title: Bherulal vs State of Madhya Pradesh
A division bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the Supreme Court granted bail to a 70-year-old visually impaired individual involved in a cheating and forgery case.
The bench expressed strong disapproval regarding the High Court’s decision to deny release to Bherulal, despite him serving half of the sentence. The Supreme Court highlighted that the High Court could have readily considered the convict’s plea for sentence suspension by applying the appropriate legal principles in the initial review.
“We take notice of the fact that stereo type orders are passed by the High Courts without any application of mind. The High Court should have realized that the petitioner is seventy years of age and out of four years of maximum sentence imposed, has already been undergone two years’ of sentence. The petitioner is virtually blind”.
The Court additionally noted the absence of any evidence indicating that Bherulal’s release on bail pending appeal would obstruct the administration of justice.
“Such casual approach of the High Court has led to the filing of this Special Leave Petition before the highest court of the country. This litigation could have been easily avoided had the High Court applied the correct principles of law governing the suspension of sentence of fixed terms of imprisonment”.
The established legal principle dictates that when a trial court imposes a fixed-term sentence, appellate courts typically lean towards granting a plea for the suspension of the sentence unless exceptional circumstances justify denying such relief, as highlighted by the Court.
Remarkably, in the current case, the High Court did not provide reasons for refusing to suspend the sentence.
Bherulal was convicted by the trial court under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000. Displeased with the verdict, he appealed to the High Court in 2023.
While his appeal was pending, he sought both suspension of the sentence and bail, submitting multiple bail applications without success.
Subsequently, Bherulal turned to the Supreme Court for recourse. Noting his advanced age of 70, his health issues, including significant vision impairment, and having already served two years of his sentence, the Court ordered his release.
