Bombay High Court
ANIL BHAGWAN MHASKEversusSTATE OF MAHARASHTRA
- Decided
- Disposal
- Allowed
Holding
The Court held that, having served over 13 years without antecedents and with the appeal unlikely to be heard soon, the appellant is entitled to bail and suspension of his sentence pending the appeal.
Summary
The appellant, convicted of murder under IPC Section 302 and assault under Section 504, was sentenced to life imprisonment and a one‑year rigorous term in 2019. He has been in custody for over 13 years and filed an interim application seeking bail and suspension of his sentence pending a criminal appeal filed in 2019. The State opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the murder offence. Relying on Supreme Court pronouncements in Saudan Singh (2023) and Sonadhar (2022), which advocate bail for prisoners who have served more than ten years without repeat offences, the Court examined the jail report confirming 13 years 4 months of actual imprisonment. Finding no criminal antecedents, the appellant’s presence in an open jail, and the likelihood that the appeal would not be heard soon, the Court allowed the bail application, suspended the sentence, and imposed standard bail conditions. The order disposes of the bail application and releases the appellant on bail pending the appeal.
Issues considered
- Whether a person convicted of murder (IPC 302) and serving a life sentence can be granted bail after serving more than ten/thirteen years of imprisonment pending appeal.
- Whether the Supreme Court guidelines in Saudan Singh and Sonadhar regarding bail for long‑serving prisoners are applicable to the present case.
- Whether the conditions imposed under Section 389 of the CrPC are appropriate for bail in such circumstances.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 389
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 — s. 302, 504
Subjects
- bail
- life imprisonment
- IPC 302
- appeal pending
- suspension of sentence
- Supreme Court guidelines
- long incarceration
- open jail
Judgment
IA-1881-2023-1336-2019.doc
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 2881 OF 2023
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 1336 OF 2019
IN
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1338 OF 2019
Anil Bhagwan Mhaske .. Applicant/Appellant
V/S.
Digitally
signed by
VARSHA
VARSHA DEEPAK
DEEPAK GAIKWAD
State of Maharashtra .. Respondents
GAIKWAD Date:
2026.09.16
11:32:41
+0530 -------------------
Mr. Somnath Vitthal Bhise, for the applicant/appellant.
Ms. Sharmila Kaushik, APP, for the respondent/State.
--------------------
CORAM : MANISH PITALE &
SHREERAM V. SHIRSAT, JJ.
DATE : 16th SEPTEMBER 2026.
ORDER: (PER SHREERAM V. SHIRSAT, J).
1. Heard Mr. Somnath Vitthal Bhise, the learned counsel for the
applicant/appellant and Ms. Sharmila Kaushik, APP, for the State.
2. The Applicant is seeking bail and suspension of sentence pending
the appeal primarily on the ground that he has suffered a long
incarceration for a period of more than 13 years.
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3. The Applicant / Appellant has been convicted by a judgment and
order dated 19.09.2019 passed by the learned Additional Sessions
Judge, Pune, for the offences punishable under Section 302 and has
been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of
Rs.7,000/-, and in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for a period
of three months and under section 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for one year.
4. Against the said order of conviction, the Applicant/Appellant has
preferred an Appeal before this Court, being Criminal Appeal No. 1338
of 2019, which is pending before this Court.
5. The Learned Counsel for the Applicant relied upon the
judgments of Saudan Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2023) 17 SCC
446 and Sonadhar v. State of Chhattisgarh, (2022) SC 788.
6. The contention of the Learned Counsel for the Applicant is that
the Applicant has been incarcerated for a period of more than 13 years,
and that the appeal is not likely to be heard in the near future. He
submitted that the Applicant is in jail since the date of his arrest. He
also submitted that there are no extenuating circumstances or any
criminal antecedents against the Applicant and therefore urged that
the Applicant be released on bail on any terms and conditions.
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7. Per Contra, the Learned APP strongly opposed the release of the
Applicant on bail pending the Appeal and submitted that the Applicant
is involved in an offence under Section 302 of the IPC and the same
has been committed by the Applicant by pouring kerosene on the
deceased in a very brutal manner having knowledge and also the
intention to kill her.
8. In Saudan Singh ( supra ), the Apex Court has been pleased to
observe as under :
“7. There may be cases where for whatever reason the
advocate may not be present as has been set out in the
report of the High Court but if they have already
completed 14 years of actual sentence, the State itself
should take an appropriate stand and the learned Judge
can himself pass appropriate orders to at least examine
those cases for release and the absence of the advocate
cannot come in the way in such a scenario.
8. We have put to learned AAG and the learned counsel
for the High Court that a list should be prepared of all
cases where the person has served out a sentence of 14
years, is not a repeat offender, and in any case if in these
cases at one go bail can be granted and cases remitted for
examination under the Uttar Pradesh Prisoners Release
on Probation Rules, 1938. In all these cases, there is a
high possibility that if these people are released, they may
not be even interest in prosecuting their appeals.
9. The second category of cases can be one where the
person has served out more than 10 years of sentence. In
these cases also at one go bail can be granted unless there
are any extenuating circumstances against him.
10. We are quite hopeful that the High Court will adopt
the aforesaid practice and thus prevent the Supreme
Court to be troubled with such matters.”
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9. We are of the opinion that in terms of categorization specified by
the Supreme Court in the case of Saudan Singh (supra), and since the
Applicant has served more than 13 years of actual imprisonment, the
bail application of the Applicant can be considered.
10. We had asked the Learned APP to call for a report from the jail
authorities to ascertain the actual years of imprisonment undergone by
the Applicant.
11. The Learned APP has placed on record the record sheet/custody
report of the Applicant dated 4/9/26, submitted by the Senior Prison
Officer/Superintendent of Jail, Yerwada Open Prison, Pune, wherein it
has been mentioned that the Applicant has undergone 13 years 4
months and 23 days of actual imprisonment.
12. Considering the fact that the Applicant has undergone actual
imprisonment of more than 13 years, the Applicant is now in open jail,
there are no criminal antecedents and the appeal is of the year 2019
which is not likely to be taken up for hearing in the near future, we are
inclined to release the applicant on bail pending the appeal.
13. We may also refer to the decision of the Apex Court in Sonadhar
v. State of Chhattisgarh (supra), wherein it has been observed “we are
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of the view that all persons who have completed 10 years of sentence
and appeal is not in proximity of hearing with no extenuating
circumstances, should be enlarged on bail."
14. We also refer to the observations made by the Apex Court in
Dinesh PauI @ Daniel Khajekar v. State of Maharashtra (Criminal
Appeal No. 2987 of 2023), where it is observed that “the appellant has
undergone incarceration for a period of more than 11 years. In fact,
the High Court ought to have granted relief under Section 389 of Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the appellant.”
15. Taking into consideration the dictum of the Apex Court, we are
inclined to allow this application. As a consequence, the Applicant is
found to be entitled to be released on bail during the pendency of the
appeal.
ORDER
A) The Application is allowed.
B) The sentence of imprisonment imposed by the learned
Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Sessions Case No. 863 of
2013 vide judgment dated 19th September 2019 is suspended
during the pendency of the appeal, and the Applicant is
released on bail on the following conditions:
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i) The Applicant is directed to furnish a personal bond and a
surety bond in the sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty
Thousand) with one or more local sureties.
(ii) The Applicant is directed to mark his attendance at the
Vishrantwadi Police Station, District-Pune, on the first
Monday of every month for a period of one year initially, and
thereafter once in six months till the disposal of the appeal,
preferably on the first Monday of January and June of every
year. In case of two consecutive defaults in complying with
the aforesaid condition, the prosecution will be at liberty to
file an application for cancellation of bail.
(iii) The Applicant is directed to furnish his residential
address and phone number and inform the police if there is
any change in the address or phone number.
(iv) The Applicant shall not leave the State of Maharashtra
without informing the Vishrantwadi Police Station, District
Pune.
(v) The Applicant shall not leave the country without prior
permission of the Court and shall deposit his passport, if any,
with this Court.
(vi) The Applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any
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inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted
with the facts of the case.
(vii) The Applicant shall not misuse his liberty and/or flout
any of the conditions imposed herein.
(viii) The Applicant shall not commit any offense during the
period of his release.
(ix) The Applicant shall make himself available at the time of
the final hearing of the appeal.
16. The Application for bail and suspension of sentence is disposed
of. All other pending applications stand disposed of.
(SHREERAM V. SHIRSAT, J.) (MANISH PITALE, J.)
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