RAJAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is a convict in two cases brought under Sections 8(1) and (2) of the Kerala Abkari Act. In S.C. No. 2174/2008 the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Nedumangad convicted the petitioner under Section 8(2) of the Kerala Abkari Act. He was accordingly sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year, and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-. In S.C. No. 993/2010 also the very same court convicted the petitioner under Sections 8(2) of the Kerala Abkari Act, and accordingly sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year, and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-. It is submitted that he has been undergoing sentence in the two cases. The petitioner has now come before this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for a direction that the sentences in the two cases shall run concurrently.

(2.) Section 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that:

(3.) Thus it is the general rule under Section 31 of Cr.P.C. that different sentences imposed by the court for different offences in a trial will have to run consecutively, unless the court directs otherwise that the sentences shall run concurrently. Here Section 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has no application because the two sentences were imposed in two different cases. The Code of Criminal Procedure does not contain any specific provision to deal with such a situation, and to order the different sentences in two or more different cases to run concurrently.