Judgment:

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J.

1. The State of Punjab is in appeal against the judgment of a learned Single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowing the application filed in terms of Section 482 read with Section 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short the `Code). The prayer was to the effect that the quantum of punishment awarded may be permitted to run concurrently in respect of the three convictions and sentences imposed.

2. The convictions were in terms of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (in short the `Act). The High Court noted that all the transactions related to the family of the respondent and the matter related to different cheques issued by the respondent to the complainant party. For this purpose separate complaints were filed. The High Court accordingly directed that the sentences imposed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana and Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khanna were to run concurrently.

3. According to the State the judgment of the High Court is erroneous.

4. In the impugned judgment of the High Court, reference was made to the decision of this court in Mohd. Akthar alias Ibrahim Ahmed Bhatti v. Assistant Collector of Customs (Prevention), Ahmadabad and Others (AIR 1988 SC 2143) wherein it was held as under:-

"The basic rule of thumb over the years has been the so called transactions rule for concurrent sentences. If a given transaction constitutes two offences under two enactments generally, it is wrong to have consecutive sentences. It is proper and legitimate to have concurrent sentences. But this rule has no application if the transaction relating to offence is shot the same or the facts constituting the two offences are quite different."

5. The majority view in State of Maharashtra v. Najakat alias Mubarak Ali [2001(6) SCC 311] was to similar effect. Paragraphs 14 to 18 in the above case it was held as follows:

"14. The purpose of Section 428 of the Code is also for advancing amelioration to the prisoner. We may point out that the section does not contain any indication that if the prisoner was in jail as an under-trial prisoner in a second case the benefit envisaged in the section would be denied to him in respect of the second case. However, learned counsel for the appellant contended that the words of the same case in the section would afford sufficient indication that the benefit is intended to cover only for one case and not more than that. It must be remembered that the ideology enshrined in Section 428 was introduced for the first time only in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. For understanding the contours of the legislative measure involved in that section, it is advantageous to have a look at the Objects and Reasons for bringing the above legislative provision. We therefore extract the same here:

" The Committee has noted the distressing fact that in many cases accused persons are kept in prison for very long period as under-trial prisoners and in some cases the sentence of imprisonment ultimately awarded is a fraction of the period spent in jail as under-trial prisoner. Indeed, there may even be cases where such a person is acquitted. No doubt, sometimes courts do take into account the period of detention undergone as under-trial prisoner when passing sentence and occasionally the sentence of imprisonment is restricted to the period already undergone. But this is not always the case so that in many cases the accused person is made to suffer jail life for a period out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence or even to the punishment provided in the statute. The Committee has also noted that a large number of persons in the overcrowded jails of today are under-trial prisoners. The new clause seeks to remedy this unsatisfactory state of affairs. The new clause provides for the setting off of the period of detention as an under-trial prisoner against the sentence of imprisonment imposed on him. The Committee trusts that the pr