There has to be strong reasons to justify the suspension of the punishment imposed on a person found guilty by a trial court, it added.
The Court, however, found no such reason in this case to exercise its discretion to order a suspension of Suni's sentence.
The Court said it cannot brush aside the prosecution's argument that such allegations, which the trial court had found to be true, had shocked the collective conscience of society.
The Court, therefore, rejected an argument that Suni ought to be allowed to leave jail until his appeal is suspended since he has already spent eight years in prison.
In that view of the matter, the long incarceration cannot by itself constitute a ground for suspension of sentence," the Court held.
The Court reasoned that at the post-conviction stage, the presumption of innocence no longer survives. There has to be strong reasons to justify the suspension of the punishment imposed on a person found guilty by a trial court, it added.
The Court, however, found no such reason in this case to exercise its discretion to order a suspension of Suni's sentence. It also commented on the grave nature of the crime said to have been committed by him.
There were allegations of calculated and premeditated acts of sexual assault and blackmail involved, which reflected an extraordinary degree of criminal depravity on the part of the accused, including Suni, the Court found.
The Court said it cannot brush aside the prosecution's argument that such allegations, which the trial court had found to be true, had shocked the collective conscience of society.
The Court, therefore, rejected an argument that Suni ought to be allowed to leave jail until his appeal is suspended since he has already spent eight years in prison.
"Its (the crime's) gravity extends beyond the individual victim, as it strikes at the dignity, bodily autonomy, and sense of security of women. It would also undermine public confidence in the rule of law and the administration of criminal justice. In that view of the matter, the long incarceration cannot by itself constitute a ground for suspension of sentence," the Court held.
