Case Note & Summary
The case involved a petitioner convicted under Sections 307 and 459 of the Indian Penal Code, sentenced to rigorous imprisonment on February 1, 1980. During the trial, he was in judicial custody from January 11, 1980, for another case under F.I.R. 315/78, which resulted in a conviction on February 16, 1981. The petitioner sought to claim that the period of judicial custody should be set off against the sentence imposed in the latter case. The court examined whether such a claim was valid under Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The State Government contended that the petitioner was not entitled to set off for the period he was already serving a sentence for the first conviction. The court analyzed the provisions of Section 428, which allows for set off only for periods of detention related to the same case. It concluded that the petitioner could not claim a double benefit for the same period of detention. The court upheld the State's position and dismissed the writ petition, affirming that the period between the two convictions should be counted as part of the imprisonment already served. The petition was ultimately dismissed.
Headnote
A) Criminal Procedure - Set Off Against Imprisonment - Claim for Set Off - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Section 428 - The petitioner claimed that the period of judicial custody in another case should be set off against the term of imprisonment for a later conviction. The court held that the period of detention during which the petitioner was undergoing imprisonment for one conviction cannot be set off against the sentence imposed for another conviction, as it constitutes part of the imprisonment already served. (Paras 727-729).
Issue of Consideration
Whether a convicted person can claim set off for the period of judicial custody in another case against the term of imprisonment imposed for a later conviction.
Final Decision
The court dismissed the writ petition, ruling that the petitioner was not entitled to set off the period of judicial custody against the sentence imposed by the Metropolitan Magistrate, as that period constituted part of the imprisonment already served for the earlier conviction.
Law Points
- Set off against imprisonment
- Code of Criminal Procedure
- 1973
- Section 428
- judicial custody
- double benefit principle
