Overview
- Narayan Sai’s application to suspend his life sentence was dismissed by a Gujarat High Court division bench on Monday, with Justices Ilesh J. Vora and R. T. Vachhani issuing the order.
- The bench said he had pursued delay tactics by filing multiple interim pleas over the years that were withdrawn or not pressed, calling the pattern a misuse of the legal process.
- When the judges offered to hear the appeal day to day, his lawyer said she was instructed to argue only the suspension plea, which the court said showed Sai had contributed to the delay and could not now rely on long incarceration.
- The judges said they saw no sufficient ground on merits to grant suspension or bail and stressed that their remarks were tentative and limited to the suspension request.
- Sai was convicted by a Surat court on April 30, 2019 for rape and related offences and has been in custody since December 2013, with his main criminal appeal now listed for final hearing on June 12, 2026.