Supreme Court Clarifies That Sentences With Life Imprisonment Must Run Concurrently, Not Consecutively
The Supreme Court has reiterated that when a person is sentenced to life imprisonment for one offence and fixed-term sentences for other offences arising from the same transaction, all sentences must run concurrently and not consecutively. The Court also held that High Courts cannot exercise suo motu revisional powers to enhance a sentence when neither the State nor the complainant has preferred an appeal for such enhancement.
The Supreme Court, in the matter of GOPI @ SAHAYA PURUNA versus THE STATE, has clarified the legal position regarding the running of sentences when life imprisonment is imposed alongside fixed-term sentences. A bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi observed that in cases where a convict is awarded multiple sentences for multiple offences and one of those sentences is life imprisonment, the sentences must run concurrently and not consecutively.