CrPC § 426 — Suspension of sentence pending appeal

Statutory text (English)

Release of appellant on bail.-
(1) Pending any appeal by
a convicted person, the Appellate Court may, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order that the
execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended and, also, if he is in confinement, that he
be released on bail or on his own bond.
[(1A) An Appellate Court shall, except where it is of the opinion that the delay in the decision of appeal
has been occasioned by an act or omission of the appellant or any other person acting on his behalf, order a
convicted person to be released on bail who has been sentenced—
(a) to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and whose appeal has not been decided
within a period of six months of his conviction;
(b) to imprisonment for a period exceeding three years but not exceeding seven years and
whose appeal has not been decided within a period of one year of his conviction; or
(c) to imprisonment for life or imprisonment exceeding seven years and whose appeal has not been
decided within a period of two years of this conviction:

Provided that the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs shall not apply to a previously convicted
offender for an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life or to a person who, in the opinion of
the Appellate Court, is a hardened desperate or dangerous criminal or is accused of an act of terrorism
punishable with death or imprisonment for life.]

(2) The power conferred by this section on an Appellate Court may be exercised also by the High Court
in the case of any appeal by a convicted person to a Court subordinate thereto.
[(2A)
[Subject to the provisions of section 382A,] when any person other than a person accused of a
non-bailable offence is sentenced to imprisonment by a Court, and an appeal lies from that sentence, the
Court may, if the convicted person satisfies the Court that he intends to present an appeal, order that he be
released on bail for a period sufficient in the opinion of the Court to enable him to present the appeal and
obtain the orders of the Appellate Court under sub-section

(1) and the sentence of imprisonment shall, so
long as he is so released on bail, be deemed to be suspended.]
[(2B) Where a High Court is satisfied that a convicted person has been granted special leave to appeal
to
[the
[Supreme Court ]]against any sentence which it has imposed or maintained,
* * *it may if it so
thinks fit order that pending the appeal the sentence or order appealed against be suspended, and also, if the
said person is in confinement, that he be released on bail.]

(3) When the appellant is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment,
[imprisonment for life], the time
during which he is so released shall be excluded in computing the term for which he is so sentenced.

Source and verification

Source citation: CrPC (Act V of 1898) s.426: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE' (Act No. V of 1898, last amended 2017-02-16), p. 158, 159, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 158, 159) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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