19.APPA.40.2026 1/6 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APPA) NO. 40 OF 2026 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 25 OF 2026 Mangesh Gunilal Bopache Vs. The State of Maharashtra, through Police Station Seloo, Dist. Wardha & Anr. ______________________________________________________________________________ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, Appearances, Court's orders of directions Court's or Judge's order and Registrar's orders. Mr. K.G. Rathi, Advocate for the Applicant/Appellant. Mr. A.R. Chutke, APP for the Respondent/State. Ms. Anushka Lokhande, Advocate h/f. Mr. Atharva Khadse, Advocate (appointed) for Respondent No.2. ------------------------------- CORAM : URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE AND R AJ D. WAKODE , JJ. DATE : 08.09.2026 The present application is preferred by the appellant/accused for suspension of sentence and for releasing him on bail. The appellant was convicted by judgment and order dated 07.11.2023 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Wardha, for the offence punishable under Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of twenty years. He was also convicted for the offence punishable under Section 452 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years, along with a fine of Rs.1,000/-. He was further convicted for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(w)(i) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and, in default of payment of fine, sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months. 19.APPA.40.2026 2/6 2. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment of conviction and sentence, the present appeal has been preferred along with the present application for suspension of sentence. 3. As per the case of the prosecution, on 27.06.2019, at about 3:00 p.m., when the victim was alone in the house, the accused entered the house on the pretext of drinking water. He allegedly offered a chocolate to the victim and thereafter subjected her to forceful sexual intercourse. On the basis of the report lodged by the victim, the police registered the offence. 4. The prosecution examined as many as eleven witnesses in support of its case and mainly relied upon the evidence of the victim (PW-3) and the Medical Officer, Dr. Priyanka Swapnil Talvekar (PW-9). Upon appreciation of the evidence on record, the learned Trial Court convicted the appellant/accused for the offences as aforestated. 5. Heard learned counsel Mr. Rathi for the appellant, who invited our attention to the spot panchnama and submitted that, though the victim was below 18 years of age, it is apparent from the circumstances that she and the appellant were together out of a love affair. As far as the alleged sexual assault is concerned, neither the evidence of the victim nor the medical evidence supports the prosecution case. However, the learned Trial Court was swayed only by the fact that the minor victim girl was subjected to sexual assault and, thereby, convicted the present appellant. 19.APPA.40.2026 3/6 6. Learned counsel for the appellant further submitted that the appellant is behind bars for the last seven years and that the appeal would take its own time for final disposal. He, therefore, submitted that the execution of the sentence be suspended, as there are several arguable points in the present appeal which the appellant would canvass during the course of hearing of the appeal. In view of the above, he prayed that the execution of the sentence be suspended and the appellant be released on bail. 7. Learned APP strongly opposed the application and submitted that, considering the evidence of the victim and the fact that the consent of the victim is not relevant in the case of a minor, the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the appellant cannot be accepted. He submitted that the minor victim girl was subjected to sexual assault and that the learned Trial Court, after appreciating the evidence on record, rightly convicted the appellant for the offences as aforestated. He, therefore, submitted that the application deserves to be rejected. 8. Learned counsel for respondent No.2 – victim also endorses the same contention. 9. On hearing both sides and on perusal of the evidence on record, we find that learned counsel for the appellant has rightly pointed out that the victim has admitted during her cross- examination that she had not stated about the penetrative sexual assault while recording her statement, and this fact has been brought on record during her evidence. Similarly, the 19.APPA.40.2026 4/6 Medical Officer, PW-9, has specifically stated that there was no penetrative sexual assault on the victim. 10. Thus, learned counsel for the appellant has rightly pointed out that there are several arguable points which can be canvassed on behalf of the appellant during the hearing of the appeal. Moreover, considering the fact that the appellant is behind bars for more than seven years, the circumstances in which the alleged incident had taken place are also required to be considered. Therefore, the observations of the Hon’ble Apex Court in this regard are relevant and are required to be reproduced hereinbelow. 11. In the case of Omprakash Sahni Vs. Jai Shankar Chaudhary and another Etc., in Criminal Appeal Nos.1331- 1332 of 2023, decided on 2nd May, 2023, the Hon’ble Apex Court, in paragraph 33, observed as under: “33. Bearing in mind the aforesaid principles of law, the endeavour on the part of the Court, therefore, should be to see as to whether the case presented by the prosecution and accepted by the Trial Court can be said to be a case in which, ultimately the convict stands for fair chances of acquittal. If the answer to the above said question is to be in the affirmative, as a necessary corollary, we shall have to say that, if ultimately the convict appears to be entitled to have an acquittal at the hands of this Court, he should not be kept behind the bars for a pretty long time till the conclusion of the appeal, which usually take very long for decision and disposal. However, while undertaking the exercise to ascertain whether the convict has fair chances of acquittal, what is to be looked into is something palpable. To put it in other words, something which is very apparent or gross on the face of the record, on the basis of which, the Court can arrive at a prima 19.APPA.40.2026 5/6 facie satisfaction that the conviction may not be sustainable. The Appellate Court should not reappreciate the evidence at the stage of Section 389 of the CrPC and try to pick up few lacunas or loopholes here or there in the case of the prosecution. Such would not be a correct approach.” 12. Thus, in the present case, considering that the appellant is behind bars for more than seven years and that there are several arguable points in his favour, the appellant has succeeded in pointing out that there are chances of his acquittal. In view of the above, the application for suspension of sentence deserves to be allowed. Accordingly, we proceed to pass the following order: ORDER (i) The Criminal Application is allowed. (ii) The execution of the sentence imposed in Sessions Case No.81 of 2019 is suspended till the disposal of the appeal. The appellant shall be released on bail on executing a PR bond of Rs.25,000/- with one surety in the like amount. (iii) The appellant shall attend the Court of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Wardha, on the 1st day of every month till the disposal of the appeal. (iv) The appellant shall not leave the jurisdiction of Wardha District without the prior permission of this Court. (v) The appellant shall furnish the names and addresses of two relatives before the learned Trial Court. 13. With the above directions, the Criminal Application stands disposed of. 19.APPA.40.2026 6/6 CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 25 OF 2026 14. As the record and proceedings are already received, the Office shall prepare the paper book. 15. The appeal be listed for final disposal after preparation of the paper book. (RAJ D. WAKODE, J.) (URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE, J.) Vijaykumar Signed by: Mr. Vijay Kumar Designation: PA To Honourable Judge Date: 09/09/2026 18:21:27