The Madras High Court constituted a Larger Bench to resolve a judicial dichotomy regarding the interpretation of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, and the State's executive power to grant leave to convicts whose appeals are pending. The court considered whether leave can be granted under Article 226 of the Constitution when an appeal is pending before the Supreme Court or the High Court. The court also examined the definition of 'sentence' under the 1982 Rules and its application to convicts whose appeals are pending.