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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
SIDDHARTH, AVNISH SAXENA, JJ.
Santosh - Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. and Another - Respondents
Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 11627 of 2025
Decided On : 16-07-2025
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. details of the case and sentences. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. arguments regarding the exercise of discretion. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. court's observations on sentencing and convictions. (Para 6 , 7) |
| 4. judicial interpretation of section 427 and its implications. (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 5. final ruling on concurrent sentencing. (Para 13 , 14 , 15) |
JUDGMENT :
Avnish Saxena, J.
1. The point of concern in the present writ petition preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is for issuance of direction to the Jail Superintendent District Jail Aligarh for concurrently running of sentence imposed in six cases arising out of theft of electricity equipment, wherein the petitioner was sentenced on admitting the guilt under plea bargaining.
2. The petitioner is aggrieved, as the trial Judge while convicting the petitioner in six cases on the same date has sentenced the accused for imprisonment of one years six months in each case, leading to his incarceration of nine years in jail, due to non exercise of discretion provided under Section 427 (1) Cr.P.C.
3. The six cases in which the petitioner has been convicted and sentenced, are tabulated below:-
| S. No. | Sessions Case No. | Case Crime No. | Police Station | Under Section | Date of Judgment | Sentence | Fine Deposited on |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 1 | 2559/2023 | Case Crime No. 375/2022 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
| 2 | 2560/2023 | Case Crime No. 10/2023 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
| 3 | 2562/2023 | Case Crime No. 379/2022 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
| 4 | 2565/2023 | Case Crime No. 374/2022 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
| 5 | 2566/2023 | Case Crime No. 361/2022 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
| 6 | 2568/2023 | Case Crime No. 06/2023 | Jawan, District- Aligarh | Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003 | 06-01-2024 | Imprisonment of 1 year, 6 months and Fine of Rs. 5000/-. In default, 6 months imprisonment. | 25-04-2025 |
4. Sri Ankit Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the discretion provided under Section 427 (1) Cr.P.C. has not been exercised by the trial Judge. The petitioner has confessed the crime on plea bargaining, considering that in all the cases the petitioner would be released after one and half years of imprisonment, as all the cases have been lodged by the police. The non exercise of discretion of consecutive or concurrent running of sentence by the trial Judge while convicting the petitioner simultaneously in six cases led to travesty of justice and long incarceration in jail. He has relied on the case of Iqram Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh , (2023) 3 SCC 184 .
5. Per contra, learned A.G.A. submits that Section 427 (1) Cr.P.C. provides the principle of running of sentence consecutively, unless the court directs the subsequent sentence to run concurrently with the previous sentence. The petitioner is apparently a habitual offender, who is convicted for theft of electricity equipment. He was apprehended by the police and accused has pleaded guilty and has been convicted accordingly.
6. We have given thoughtful consideration to the rival submissions made by the parties and perused the record.
7. The perusal of the judgements of conviction and sentence clearly shows that the order of conviction in six cases, detailed above have been passed by the same Judge, on the same date and on the basis of plea bargaining, on admission of guilt. The sentence passed in eac
The court must exercise discretion on sentencing to ensure that consecutive sentences do not unjustly extend incarceration, particularly when multiple convictions arise from the same context.
Multiple sentences are supposed to run concurrently unless and until directed by Court to run consecutively.
offences like theft, housebreaking, lurking house trespass - Petitioner is involved in several cases and after taking into consideration entire facts and circumstances, it was observed that petitione....
Prior term sentences must be served before subsequent life sentence under Section 427(1) CrPC unless court directs concurrency; Section 427(2) applies only when prior sentence is life imprisonment.
The court ruled that once a judgment attains finality, it cannot be altered or reviewed except to correct clerical errors; substantive modifications require specific procedural grounds.
The statutory remedy must be availed before approaching the Constitutional Court, and the discretion to be exercised in directing the sentence to run concurrently would depend upon the nature of the ....
The court may direct sentences to run concurrently under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., considering the nature of offenses and the defendant's likelihood of reform.
The court has discretion under Section 427 of CrPC to order concurrent sentences, which must be exercised judiciously based on the nature of the offences and circumstances of the case.
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