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2003 DIGILAW 792 (AP)

Thirumalagiri Vijayaram Singh v. State Of A. P.

2003-06-24

K.C.BHANU

body2003
K. C. BHANU, J. ( 1 ) THIS is a petition to direct the respondent to give the petitioner the benefit of set-off of 944 days of remand undergone by the petitioner in SC No. 31 of 1999, 32/99, 445/1998 on the file of the II additional Sessions Judge, Ranga Reddy district, in SC No. 97 of 2000 on the file of the I Additional Assistant Sessions Judge, (Crl. Appeal No. 20 of 2001, on the file of the n Additional District and Sessions Judge, ranga Reddy District), and in S. C. No. 642 of 1999 on the file of the II Additional assistant Sessions Judge, Ranga Reddy district, (Crl. Appeal No. 30 of 2002, on the file of the II Additional District and sessions Judge ). ( 2 ) IN all these cases the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to undergo sentences as per the judgments of the lower Courts. The only point raised by the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that under Section 428 cr. PC. , the remand period undergone by the petitioner in one case may be treated as remand period in other cases also. For which, he relied upon a decision reported in State of Maharashtra v. Najakat all Mubarak AH, (2001) 6 SCC 311 , wherein their Lordships held in Para 18 as follows:"reading Section 428 of the Code in the above perspective, the words "of the same case" are not to be understood as suggesting that the set-off is allowable only if the earlier jail life was undergone by him exclusively for the case in which the sentence is imposed. The period during which the accused was in prison subsequent to the inception of a particular case, should be credited towards the period of imprisonment awarded as sentence in that particular case. It is immaterial that the prisoner was undergoing sentence of imprisonment in another case also during the said period. The words "of the same case" were used to refer to the pre- sentence period of detention undergone by him. Nothing more can be made out of the collocation of those words. " ( 3 ) THE learned Additional Public prosecutor did not oppose the same in view of the fact the decision of the Apex Court on the point of remand in one case can be given set off in another case also. Nothing more can be made out of the collocation of those words. " ( 3 ) THE learned Additional Public prosecutor did not oppose the same in view of the fact the decision of the Apex Court on the point of remand in one case can be given set off in another case also. ( 4 ) THE learned Counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner is suffering from Peptic cancer and the benefit of remand would go a long way for his survival and that there will not be any possibility for him to commit any similar offence if his remand in one case is accepted in other cases. In State of Maharashtra s case (supra) their Lordships of Supreme court held that Section 428 of Criminal procedure Code permits the accused to have the period undergone by him in jail as an undertrial prisoner set off against the period of sentence imposed on him irrespective of whether he was in jail in connection with the same case during that period. ( 5 ) IN view of the settled law, the period of remand undergone by the petitioner in SC No. 642 of 1999 on the file of the n Additional Assistant Sessions Judge, ranga Reddy District (Criminal Appeal no. 30 of 2002 on the file of the II Additional district and Sessions Judge, Ranga Reddy district) shall be given set off in respect of the sentences awarded in other cases i. e. , S. C. Nos. 31 of 1999, 32 of 1999 and 445 of 1998 on the file of the JJ Additional sessions Judge, Ranga Reddy District, and SC No. 97 of 2000 on the file of the i Additional Assistant Sessions Judge (Crl. A. No. 20 of 2001 on the file of the ii Additional District and Sessions Judge, ranga Reddy District ). ( 6 ) ACCORDINGLY, the petition is allowed at the stage of admission.