RAJESHBHAI CHATURBHAI CHAUDHARY Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Ms. Nita Banker, learned counsel appearing for the appellant and Shri P. D. Bhate, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing on behalf of the respondent-State.

(2.) THIS is an appeal preferred by the appellant-orig. accused under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 14th February 2002 passed by the learned Extra Assistant Sessions Judge, Valsad at Navsari, in Sessions Case No. 150 of 2000, whereby the learned trial Judge has held the appellant guilty for the charge of offence punishable under Sections 376 and 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 07 (seven) years and a fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default of payment of fine shall undergo simple imprisonment for one year, for the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. So far as the offence punishable under Section 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code is concerned, the appellant is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 03 (three) years and a fine of Rs. 500/- in default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for one month. The learned trial Judge has ordered both the sentences to run concurrently.

(3.) ACCORDING to Ms. Nita Banker, learned counsel appearing for the appellant, the appellant has already undergone the substantive part of the imprisonment imposed by the learned trial Judge. According to her calculation, the substantive sentence imposed by the learned trial Judge might have been completed by 27th July 2007. The date of incident, according to the charge framed by the learned trial Judge and the evidence led by the prosecution is shown to be 27th July 2000, and the appellant was not granted bail. The appellant may have enjoyed, perhaps, the interim bail or other leaves but as this Court has not granted bail to the appellant even on admission of the appeal, she has reason to believe that he must have completed the period of sentence keeping in mind the statutory rules framed to grant remission by the Jail Authority.