Stn Son of Late Shri Samundraya Alias Samundra Lal Vs State of Rajasthan

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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR

S.B. Criminal Misc. 4^th Suspension Of Sentence Application (Appeal) No. 560/2026

STN Son Of Late Shri Samundraya Alias Samundra Lal, Resident Of Godalya Hedi, Police Station Kaithoon, District Kota. (At Present The Accused/appellant Is Confined At Protection Home Kota)

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----Petitioner

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Versus

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State Of Rajasthan, Through The PP

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Victim, R/o

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----Respondents

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For Petitioner(s)	: Mr. Sudarshan Kumar Laddha, Adv.
For Respondent(s)	: Mr. Sudesh Saini, PP
For Complainant(s)	: Mr. Asgar Khan, Adv.

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR UPMAN

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Order

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14/05/2026

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The applicant herein has been convicted for offences under Section 376(A)(B) of IPC and Section 5(m)(n)/6 of POCSO Act, 2012 vide judgment dated 13.09.2023 passed by learned Special Judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act & Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, No.5, Kota in Special Sessions Case No.77/2021 and has been sentenced to maximum punishment of 20 years.

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The first application for suspension of execution of sentence filed on behalf of the applicant was dismissed as withdrawn on 15.07.2024 with liberty to renew the prayer for suspension of execution of sentence, if the appeal is not heard finally within a period of nine months. Thereafter, the applicant filed second

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application for interim suspension of execution of his sentence on the ground of death of his father, which was allowed vide order dated 17.04.2025. After availing the period of interim suspension, the applicant surrendered before the concerned Jail authority. Thereafter, the applicant filed third application, which was also dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 13.08.2025. Since, the matter has not been placed for final hearing thus, this fourth application for suspension of execution of sentence has been filed on behalf of the applicant.

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Learned counsel for the applicant submits that learned trial Court has erred in convicting and sentencing the applicant as mentioned above. Learned trial Court has not appreciated the evidence in right and correct perspective. He further submits that the applicant is a juvenile and compromise has also been arrived at between the parties. Counsel also submits that applicant has already suffered considerable period of incarceration and looking to the large pendency of appeals before this Court, there is no immediate prospect of this appeal being heard and disposed of in near future. Learned counsel relied upon the order passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s).5636/2024: Zameer versus The State of Karnataka , wherein considering the period of incarceration, benefit of suspension of execution sentence has been granted. He further submits that in view of observations made by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the aforesaid case and further considering the fact that applicant is a juvenile, the period of incarceration already suffered by him and matter has already been settled between the parties,

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this fourth application for suspension of execution of sentence may be considered liberally.

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Learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the submissions made by learned counsel for the applicant and submits that the applicant had sexually exploited a seven years old girl, which has been very well proved from the evidence available on record. Therefore, looking to the seriousness of allegations, no case for suspension of execution of sentence is made out. He further submits that first application for suspension of execution of sentence preferred on behalf of the applicant was dismissed with liberty to file afresh, if the appeal is not heard finally within a period of nine months, but perusal of file would show that no serious efforts have been made on behalf of the applicant to get this appeal listed for final hearing. He further submits that there is no material change in circumstances. Learned counsel relies upon the judgment passed on 06.08.2025 by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jamnalal versus State of Rajasthan & Anr. in SLP (Crl) No.69 of 2025 wherein it has been observed that in any case of fair chance of acquittal, application for suspension of sentence can be considered. However, he fairly concedes that the matter has been compromised between the parties.

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Learned counsel appearing for the complainant/victim does not oppose the prayer for suspension of sentence in view of compromise arrived at between the parties.

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Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.

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The third application for suspension of execution of sentence was dismissed by this Court vide order dated 13.08.2025 and there is no material change in circumstances except that the parties have entered into compromise. Merely on the basis of compromise and period of incarceration, applicant does not become entitled to get his sentence suspended, particularly, when no efforts on behalf of the applicant is appearing on record to get this appeal listed for final hearing. While setting aside the facility of suspension of execution of sentence, it has been observed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jamnalal (supra), that:-

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“10. One would have expected the High Court hearing an application under Section 389 of Cr.P.C. for suspension of sentence to examine whether prima facie there was anything palpable on the record to indicate if the accused had a fair chance of overturning the conviction. In Omprakash Sahni v. Jai Shankar Chaudhary and Another , this Court had the following to say on the scope of Section 389 of the Cr.P.C.

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“23. The principle underlying the theory of criminal jurisprudence in our country is that an accused is presumed to be innocent till he is held guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. Once the accused is held guilty, the presumption of innocence gets erased. In the same manner, if the accused is acquitted, then the presumption of innocence gets further fortified.

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From perusal of Section 389 CrPC, it is evident that save and except the matter falling under the category of sub-section (3) neither any specific principle of law is laid down nor any criteria has been fixed for consideration of the prayer of the convict and further, having a judgment of conviction erasing the presumption leaning in favour of the accused regarding innocence till contrary recorded by the court of competent jurisdiction, and in the aforesaid background, there happens to be a fine distinction between the prayer for bail at the pre-conviction as well as the post-conviction stage viz. Sections

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437, 438, 439 and 389(1) CrPC.

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Bearing in mind the aforesaid principles of law, the endeavour on the part of the court, therefore, should be to see as to whether the case presented by the prosecution and accepted by the trial court can be said to be a case in which, ultimately the convict stands for fair chances of acquittal. If the answer to the abovesaid question is to be in the affirmative, as a necessary corollary, we shall have to say that, if ultimately the convict appears to be entitled to have an acquittal at the hands of this Court, he should not be kept behind the bars for a pretty long time till the conclusion of the appeal, which usually takes very long for decision and disposal. However, while undertaking the exercise to ascertain whether the convict has fair chances of acquittal, what is to be looked into is something palpable. To put it in other words, something which is very apparent or gross on the face of the record, on the basis of which, the court can arrive at a prima facie satisfaction that the conviction may not be sustainable. The appellate court should not reappreciate the evidence at the stage of Section 389 CrPC and try to pick up a few lacunae or loopholes here or there in the case of the prosecution. Such would not be a correct approach.”

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In the affidavit filed before us, Respondent No.2 has contended that there is no allegation of post-bail misconduct or breach of conditions warranting the setting aside of the bail order. The submission is fallacious. There is clear distinction in law between setting aside of the bail by a higher Court and cancellation of the bail. While cancellation of bail is due to some supervening circumstances like breach of bail condition, setting aside of the bail is concerned not with the breach of condition but with the justifiability and soundness of the order granting bail (See Neeru Yadav v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Another ).

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It has been further contended that there was lack of corroborative medical and forensic evidence. The State, in its counter affidavit, averred that the FSL/DNA report could not be presented by the prosecution before the conclusion of trial and that the FSL report which has since been received does mention the presence of male

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DNA/semen of the accused on the private part and underwear of the victim. We are not inclined to comment one way or the other on the merits of the FSL report and we leave it to the prosecution if it so desires to resort to such legally permissible procedure as is available in law to bring the same on record.

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Independent of the FSL and DNA report and considering the nature of the case and the antecedents of Respondent No.2 and after carefully examining the judgment of conviction, we feel that the High Court was not justified in suspending the sentence.

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The reasoning of the High Court, set out above, falls far short of the parameters required under Section 389 of Cr.P.C. for enlargement of a convict, punished for heinous offence, on bail after suspending the sentence. The finding that no sexual assault was found, without considering the overall nature of the evidence of the case, is completely untenable. According to the evidence of the prosecutrix, Respondent No.2, at gunpoint, closed her mouth and forcibly took her to the house of Amro and committed rape on her. All that the medical evidence said was that no conclusive opinion about the crime could be given since FSL Report was awaited. That does not mean that the ocular evidence could be ignored. As far as non-availability of FSL Report is concerned, the prosecution has explained the situation and the Trial Court has also found that the non-availability of the DNA Report did not adversely affect the case of the prosecution. The reasoning that despite the availability of washrooms in the house it was difficult to believe that the prosecutrix could go out for the toilet, is conjectural in nature.

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In Vijay Kumar v. Narendra and Others this Court observed as follows:

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“10. On perusal of the record and on consideration of the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing for the parties, we are of the view that in the context of the facts and circumstances of the case the High Court was in error in passing the order releasing the respondents on bail. The High Court has neither given any reason nor has indicated any exceptional circumstance for granting bail to the respondents. In the above circumstances, it is difficult for us to even surmise the circumstance which prompted the learned Single Judge to consider the accused persons to

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be entitled to the discretionary relief of bail pending the appeal. The principle is well settled that in considering the prayer for bail in a case involving a serious offence like murder punishable under Section 302 IPC, the court should consider the relevant factors like the nature of the accusation made against the accused, the manner in which the crime is alleged to have been committed, the gravity of the offence, and the desirability of releasing the accused on bail after they have been convicted for committing the serious offence of murder. Our attention has not been drawn to any material which would show that the learned Single Judge took into consideration the relevant factors while passing the bail order. We refrain ourselves from making any observation touching on merits of the case lest it may prejudice any of the parties. Suffice it to state that we do not consider this a fit case for grant of bail to the respondents during pendency of the appeal filed by them.”

¶54

Though said in the context of Section 302 IPC, it applies with equal force to a case of the present nature under the POCSO Act, also.”

¶55

The victim, who is only 7 years old, has clearly stated that the accused had sexually abused him. At the first glance and on a preliminary assessment of the material available on record, the testimony of the victim does not appear to have any inherent defect, inconsistency, or infirmity which could cast doubt on the reliability of the testimony of the victim at this stage. The victim, despite being of tender age, has clearly and consistently narrated the incident, and there is nothing on record at this stage which would cast any doubt on the reliability of the version given by the victim. When the version given by the victim seems to be natural and trustworthy, the Court is bound to attach due weight to the same.

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In criminal jurisprudence, especially with regard to sexual offences committed against children, the statement of the victim assumes considerable probative value. Where the Court prima facie finds that the testimony evokes confidence and lacks any material contradictions or improbabilities, it cannot be lightly ignored. The credibility of the testimony assumes considerable importance while dealing with any application for suspension of execution of sentence.

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In the firm opinion of this Court, mere fact that matter has been settled between the parties and the accused has spent a sufficient period of time in incarceration during pendency of appeal would not by itself constitute a valid ground upon which the suspension of the sentence can be based. The suspension of the sentence is discretionary relief that the Court must consider the gravity of the offence, the nature of the offence, the manner in which the offence was committed, and the evidence that was used to convict the accused individual. Where the offence is grave and the evidence of the victim seems credible, the period that the accused individual has spent in incarceration does not outweigh the gravity of the offence or the justification for granting suspension of the execution of sentence.

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Considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case as well as rival submissions made by learned counsel for both the parties; material available on record including testimony of victim as well as medical expert and in view of observation made by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jamnalal (supra), this Court is of the view that there is no material change in

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circumstances and merely on the basis of compromise and period of incarceration, applicant does not become entitled to get his sentence suspended. Thus, looking to the nature and gravity of offence, this Court is not inclined to suspend the execution of sentence of the applicant.

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Accordingly, this fourth application for suspension of execution of sentence stands dismissed.

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(ANIL KUMAR UPMAN),J

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Manoj Solanki /6

Stn Son of Late Shri Samundraya Alias Samundra Lal v. State of Rajasthan

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Stn Son of Late Shri Samundraya Alias Samundra Lal v. State of Rajasthan

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