JUDGMENT

Thomas, J.-Leave granted.

2. An accused has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in two criminal cases. As he was arrested on the same day in connection with both the cases he remained in jail as an under-trial prisoner during the same period in both cases. The question mooted in this appeal is this : Is it permissible for him to claim the benefit of set off envisaged in Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short the Code ) in both cases? As the High Court of Bombay has answered the question in the affirmative by the impugned judgment this appeal is filed by the State of Maharashtra in challenge of the said view of the High Court.

3. A two Judge Bench of this Court has made observations in Raghubir Singh v. State of Haryana1 that on the fact situation in the said case the accused cannot claim a double benefit. In other words, learned Judges held that the accused can have the benefit of set off in one of those cases but not in both. When the said decision was cited before the High Court, the learned Single Judge who rendered the impugned judgment has stated that on the facts in the case of Raghubir Singh (supra) the question in issue involved here never