When a Magistrate Court convicts an accused, the rule that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” no longer applies. Under Section 389(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) / corresponding Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provisions, the trial court may suspend a short sentence (not exceeding 3 years) and grant brief post-conviction bail to allow the convict time to file an appeal.
Post-Conviction Norms in General
Once a trial court records a finding of guilt and convicts the accused, the legal presumption of innocence ceases, making post-conviction bail harder to secure than pre-trial bail.
Under Section 389(3) CrPC, if an accused who is already on bail is sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, the trial magistrate is statutorily empowered to suspend the sentence and grant bail to enable them to present an appeal before the higher court.
For heavier sentences or when the convict was not already on bail, the trial magistrate generally lacks the latitude to grant long-term suspension, and the convict must approach the appropriate Appellate (Sessions) Court or the High Court under Section 389(1) for bail pending appeal.
If the statutory conditions for trial-court bail are unmet or if the magistrate declines to suspend the sentence, the convicted person is taken into judicial custody/sent to jail immediately pending an appellate move.
