Mishrilal Sonkar v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko.

Allahabad HC9 Mar 2026CRLA/559/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Bail during pendency of appeal; suspension of sentence; stay of realisation of fine; dowry death case under Sections 498-A and 304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 Dowry Prohibition Act; applicant is father-in-law of deceased; no specific role alleged; deceased died by hanging; in jail since 05.02.2026; release on personal bond with one surety as per Smt. Bacchi Devi vs. State of U.P. and Another, 2025 SCC OnLine All 5286; appeal connected with Criminal Appeal No. 808 of 2026; Allahabad High Court Lucknow Bench; Praveen Kumar Giri, J.

What did the court decide?

Suspension of execution of sentence and release of the applicant on bail during pendency of the appeal on furnishing a personal bond with one surety; realisation of fine stayed till final adjudication of the pending appeal. ¶¶26

Mishrilal Sonkar vs State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home… — Dowry and Cruelty | Allahabad HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the execution of the sentence awarded to the applicant (Mishrilal Sonkar) should be suspended and he enlarged on bail during the pendency of the appeal, and whether realisation of the fine imposed on him should be stayed.

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Ratio / Principle

Considering the arguments of counsel, the facts and circumstances, that the appeal is not likely to be listed for final disposal in the near future, that the appellant is the father-in-law of the deceased, and that the husband's appeal is pending separately, the Court found it a fit case for grant of bail during the pendency of the appeal.

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Key takeaways

The applicant, convicted and sentenced in Sessions Trial No.39 of 2022 and languishing in jail since 05.02.2026, is to be released on bail during pendency of the appeal on furnishing a personal bond with one surety, as per the judgment in Smt. Bacchi Devi vs. State of U.P. and Another, 2025 SCC OnLine All 5286.ratio¶¶25
The application for suspension of sentence, release on bail and stay of fine is allowed.ratio¶¶26
Realisation of the fine imposed on the applicant shall remain stayed till the final adjudication of the pending appeal.ratio

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Criminal Appeal No. 559 of 2026, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Lucknow Bench), Court No. 13, Praveen Kumar Giri, J. (June 8, 2026): Application for suspension of sentence, release on bail and stay of fine by Mishrilal Sonkar, appellant and father-in-law of the deceased, allowed. The applicant, languishing in jail since 05.02.2026, was convicted and sentenced in Sessions Trial No. 39 of 2022 (arising out of Case Crime No. 50 of 2022, PS Kotwali Dehat, District Balrampur) under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act; he was ordered released on bail during pendency of the appeal on a personal bond with one surety as per Smt. Bacchi Devi vs. State of U.P. and Another, 2025 SCC OnLine All 5286, and realisation of fine was stayed till final adjudication of the appeal. The Court noted the appeal was unlikely to be listed for final disposal soon and that the husband's appeal was pending separately (to be connected with Criminal Appeal No. 808 of 2026); counsel had urged that no specific role was assigned to the father-in-law regarding cruelty and the death of the deceased, who died by hanging with no antemortem injury found.

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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW

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CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 559 of 2026

Mishrilal Sonkar

.....Appellant(s)

Versus

State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko.

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.....Respondent(s) Counsel for Appellant(s) : Anand Pratap Singh, Anoop Kumar Upadhyay Counsel for Respondent(s) : G.A.

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Court No. - 13

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HON'BLE PRAVEEN KUMAR GIRI, J.

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Order on Application for Suspension of Sentence and Release on Bail and Stay of Fine

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Heard learned counsel for the appellant/applicant, Mr. Anoop Kumar Upadhyay as well as Mr. Ajay Kumar Srivastava, learned A.G.A. for the State.

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Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the instant bail application has been preferred on behalf of the applicant namely, Mishrilal Sonkar, along with the pending appeal seeking release of the applicant on bail during pendency of the appeal. The prayer clause of the bail application is delineated below :-

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"That the applicant/appellant begs to submit as under:-

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For the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to suspend the execution of the sentence awarded to the applicant/appellant in S.T. No.39 of 2022 arising out of Case Crime No.50 of 2022, under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District Balrampur, and enlarge him on bail during the pendency of the present appeal. It is further prayed that the realization of the fine imposed upon him may also be stayed during the pendency of the appeal. "

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CRLA No. 559 of 2026

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Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present application has been filed on behalf of the father-in-law of the deceased. He further submits that the father-in-law, mother-in-law and husband were implicated in the present case and during the pendency of the trial, the mother-in-law died and after conclusion of the trial, the husband as well as the father-in-law were convicted under Section 304-B I.P.C. along with other sections.

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Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that this is not the bail application of the husband and the present application has been filed only on behalf of the father-in-law. He further submits that no specific role has been assigned to the father-in-law with regard to cruelty and the death of the deceased, who died by hanging. He also submits that no antemortem injury was found on the body of the deceased.

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Per contra, Mr. Ajay Kumar Srivastava, learned A.G.A. for the State submits that the marriage was solemnized on 19.05.2021 and the daughter-in-law of the applicant committed suicide on 06.03.2022. Learned A.G.A., further opposes the bail and submits that there was demand of dowry and cruelty, therefore, Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. along with other provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act attracts in the present case.

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Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the applicant was on bail during the trial and has not misused the liberty of bail. He further submits that the applicant is ready to cooperate in the hearing of the appeal.

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Considering the arguments of the learned counsel for the parties discussed herein above, the facts and circumstances of the case and the fact that the appeal is not likely to be listed for final disposal in near future and also the fact that the appellant is the father-in-law of the deceased and the appeal filed by the husband is pending separately, this Court finds it a fit case for grant of bail during the pendency of the appeal.

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Let the applicant, namely, Mishrilal Sonkar, who is languishing in jail since 05.02.2026, convicted and sentenced in Sessions Trial No.39 of 2022, arising out of Case Crime No.50 of 2022, under Sections 498-A,

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CRLA No. 559 of 2026

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304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District Balrampur, be released on bail during pendency of the appeal on furnishing a personal bond along with one surety to the satisfaction of the court concerned as per the judgment of this Court passed in Smt. Bacchi Devi vs. State of U.P. and Another, 2025 SCC OnLine All 5286.

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