ANOOP SINGH KARAYAT Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vide the present petitions, the Petitioner seeks to challenge the Order dtd. 3/12/2021 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala House Courts, rejecting the application of the Petitioner herein filed under Sec. 389(2) Cr.P.C for suspension of sentence during the pendency of Appeal.

(2.) It is pertinent to mention here that the impugned Order arises from a batch of criminal appeals, being Crl. Appeals No. 89/2021 (filed by the co-accused - Gopal Ansal), 90/2021 (filed by the co-accused -Sushil Ansal), 91/2021 (filed by the co-accused - P.P. Batra), 92/2021 (filed by the co-accused - Dinesh Chandra Sharma) and 95/2021 (filed by Anoop Singh Karayat, the Petitioner herein). Co-accused Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal have also challenged the Order impugned herein by filing CRL.M.C. 3276/2021 and CRL.M.C. 3277/2021 respectively. All the petitions were heard together. Mr. Arvind Nigam, learned Senior Counsel appeared for Sushil Ansal (Petitioner in CRL.M.C. 3276/2021), and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mr. N. Hariharan, and Mr. Pramod K. Dubey, learned Senior Counsels appeared for Gopal Ansal (Petitioner in CRL.M.C. 3277/2021).

(3.) For a better understanding of the instant petition, it is imperative to narrate the backdrop of the entire episode, which is stated as under: