Suspension of sentence pending appeal; release of appellant on bail.

What this section does

Pending an appeal by a convicted person, the Appellate Court may, for recorded reasons, suspend the sentence and release the appellant on bail or on their own bond; for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of ten or more years, the Public Prosecutor must be given an opportunity to show cause in writing before such release. The trial court must release a convicted person on bail if they intend to appeal and are on bail with a sentence not exceeding three years, or are convicted of a bailable offence and on bail, unless special reasons exist for refusal. Time spent on bail pending appeal is excluded from computation of the sentence ultimately imposed.

AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).

Procedure at a glance

Key actors

Appellate Court · High Court · Convicted person · Public Prosecutor · Trial Court

Time limit

Bail at trial court stage to be for sufficient time to present appeal and obtain Appellate Court orders; time on bail excluded from sentence computation

Derived from CrPC s.389.