The Supreme Court has suspended the sentence of a 19-year-old convict sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, granting him bail pending further proceedings.

A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi passed the order in a special leave petition challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s refusal to suspend the sentence imposed by the trial court.

The petitioner had been convicted for offences under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC, along with Sections 5(l) and 6 of the POCSO Act, with the trial court imposing a maximum sentence of 20 years along with a fine of ₹50,000. The victim was stated to be 17 years old at the time of the incident.

Taking note of the nature of the evidence on record and the age of the accused at the time of the offence, the Court observed that it was inclined to exercise its discretion in favour of the petitioner. It accordingly suspended the substantive sentence and directed that the petitioner be released on bail, subject to conditions to be imposed by the trial court.

With these observations, the Court disposed of the special leave petition.

Appearances:

For the Petitioner: Mr. Namit Saxena, AOR
For the Respondent: Mr.Shiv Mangal Sharma, AAG; Mr. Puneet Parihar, Adv.; Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR