The Supreme Court has decided to suspend the life sentence of a man found guilty of killing his wife and has granted him bail. The court pointed out that the case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence and that the appeal in the Madhya Pradesh High Court may not be heard soon. Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan were handling a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Shivendra challenging the high court’s decision not to suspend his sentence during the appeal process.
The man, along with a co-accused, was convicted by the trial court for his wife’s murder and was given a life sentence. He then appealed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, seeking suspension of his sentence under Section 389(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. However, the High Court denied his request for relief.
The Supreme Court noted that the prosecution’s case was built entirely on circumstantial evidence. The bench led by Justice Pardiwala acknowledged the petitioner’s nearly eight years of imprisonment and the slow progress of criminal appeals in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Considering the circumstances, the Supreme Court decided to grant bail to the petitioner and suspended the life imprisonment sentence imposed by the Trial Court. The suspension of the sentence will be in effect until the final disposal of the criminal appeal in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
