The Kalaburagi bench of the high court has said that an escaped convict cannot seek the benefit under Section 427 (2) of CrPC, which states that subsequent conviction and sentence shall run concurrently with such previous sentence.
The petitioner, a murder convict, had jumped parole for more than five and a half years and was subsequently sentenced to six months’ imprisonment under Section 58 of the Karnataka Prisons Act.
The petitioner, a resident of Sindhagi in Vijayapura district, was convicted in a case of murder (2005) and his life sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2019. Released on parole for 15 days on November 5, 2011, he did not return and was finally re-arrested on September 28, 2017. A JMFC court in Vijayapura ordered him to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of six months and clarified that the period of imprisonment would commence after he completed the life imprisonment in the murder case.
The petitioner contended before the high court that he is entitled for the benefit under Section 427 (2) of CrPC. He submitted that the clarification issued by the trial court was harsh as it would mean that he has to spend six more months in prison, after remission of life sentence.
The court said that if such lenience is shown to the petitioner, who did not turn up for a period of more than five years, it would be a mockery of justice.
“In the case on hand, petitioner has committed murder, which is against the society at large. Apart from that, he escaped from the punishment when he was on parole. Hence, the petitioner is not entitled for the relief as contended in the petition to make the sentence as concurrent instead of consecutive and there is an explicit proviso under Section 426 of CrPC with regard to the sentence on escaped convict when to take effect,” Justice H P Sandesh said.
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Published 29 December 2021, 18:32 IST