They Had Been On Bail For Twelve Years. The Appeals Failed.
Four connected appeals against conviction were heard together and all dismissed. The appellants who had been at liberty on bail were ordered back into custody at once.
All the appeals were held to be devoid of merit and dismissed. The accused already in custody serves the remaining part of his sentence. The other convicted appellants, who were on bail, were directed to be taken into custody forthwith to serve the remainder, with their bail bonds cancelled.
- Bail pending appeal ends when the appeal does. It is not a substitute for the sentence.
- Forthwith, not on a later date — the direction was immediate and the bonds cancelled with it.
- Four connected matters were heard together, including a government appeal from 2019.
- The appeals date from 2014 and were decided in 2026.
- Court
- High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
- Bench
- Justice MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK, Justice MR. JUSTICE SASHIKANTA MISHRA
- Citation
- CRLA Nos. 179, 169 and 262 of 2014 with GCRLA No. 6 of 2019
- Case
- CRLA Nos. 179, 169 and 262 of 2014 with GCRLA No. 6 of 2019
- Decided
- August 2026
- Outcome
- All appeals dismissed; appellants on bail taken into custody
What was before the Court
Three criminal appeals of 2014 and a government criminal appeal of 2019 arising from the same judgment were heard together.
One accused was in custody throughout. The others had been released on bail during the pendency of their appeals.
The outcome
The Court found all the appeals devoid of merit and dismissed them.
The accused in custody serves the remaining part of his sentence. The other convicted appellants, being on bail, were directed to be taken into custody forthwith to serve the remainder, and their bail bonds were cancelled.
Who argued it
Appearances as recorded in the judgment of the Court.
Frequently asked
What happens to my bail if the appeal is dismissed?
It ends. Here the bail bonds were cancelled and the appellants were directed to be taken into custody forthwith.
Do I get time to surrender?
Not as of right. The direction in this case was custody forthwith.
Advising a client on bail pending appeal
- Make plain from the outset that bail pending appeal ends with the appeal and the balance of the sentence resumes.
- Compute the remaining sentence before the hearing, so the client knows what dismissal means in months.
- Where surrender is inevitable, seek a short window rather than resisting; this Court directed custody forthwith.
- Watch for a connected government appeal — it can be decided in the same judgment.
Source. High Court of Orissa at Cuttack, CRLA Nos. 179, 169 and 262 of 2014 with GCRLA No. 6 of 2019, decided August 2026 by Justice MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK, Justice MR. JUSTICE SASHIKANTA MISHRA. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.
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