The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man, who has been languishing in jail for the past around 10 years, serving life imprisonment in a murder case.
The Bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli on Monday suspended the sentence of the appellant and ordered his release on bail on the grounds that hearing of his appeal before the Punjab and Haryana High Court would take some more time.
The Apex Court, while disposing of the petition, said that the trial court may impose appropriate conditions and issue the release order.
It also took note of the fact that the High Court had rejected his bail application for the fourth time during the pendency of criminal appeal.
The petition filed by Sukhjeet Singh alias Johny contended that he was arrested on December 23, 2011 on charges of killing one Babu Ram. He has since remained behind the bars and was released on parole in April 2020 during the Covd-19 pandemic. He surrendered on April 14, 2021 and has remained in jail since.
The plea said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had convicted him under Section 302 IPC on February 20, 2015.
He said he had filed three appeals for bail before the High Court, which were rejected. The petitioner said his fourth application, seeking suspension of sentence and release on bail, was pending before the High Court.
Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Mohd Fuzail Khan, along with Advocate Bhibhuti Krishna, appeared for the petitioner.
The respondents were represented by Additional Advocate General Vishal Mahajan and Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Samar Vijay Singh.
(Case title: Sukhjeet Singh alias Johny vs State of Haryana)