The Supreme Court has declared that requiring a convict to deposit 50% of compensation under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to suspend a sentence is unjustifiable.
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Pankaj Mithal noted, “Considering the purpose and object of Section 357, and its interpretation in Dilip S. Dahanukar vs. Mahindra Co. Ltd., the High Court’s direction to suspend the sentence on the condition of depositing 50% of the compensation is not justified.”
The ruling came in response to a petition by a convict challenging the Bombay High Court’s directive to deposit 50% of a compensation amounting to approximately Rs 2.8 crores in order to suspend his four-year imprisonment for criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Supreme Court overruled the High Court’s condition, deeming it inappropriate.
