Overview

• Justices Anand Pathak and Pushpendra Yadav suspended Mahesh Sharma’s life sentence after about 10 years and 8 months in custody, citing parity with two co-accused granted bail on July 7, 2025.
• Release requires a Rs 50,000 bond with two solvent sureties, deposit of the fine, and appearance before the High Court’s Principal Registrar on 24/11/2025 and on later dates.
• The court directed Sharma to plant 10 saplings of fruit-bearing or neem/peepal trees, specifying 6–8 foot plants in 3–4 foot pits, with personal responsibility for their care.
• Compliance must be documented with photographs within 30 days of release and then quarterly via the High Court’s NISARG app using geo-tagging and geo-fencing, with the trial court monitoring progress.
• The bench called the measure a test case to cultivate compassion and warned that bail would be withdrawn if the complainant faces embarrassment or harassment, with the appeal’s merits still to be decided.