SC rules multiple life terms to run concurrently, not consecutively

Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that if a convict is awarded multiple life imprisonment then they shall run concurrently and not consecutively.

Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that if a convict is awarded multiple life imprisonment then they shall run concurrently and not consecutively.

Supreme Court ruled that if a convict is awarded multiple life imprisonment, then they shall run concurrently. (Sunil Saxena/HT File Photo)

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur delivered its verdict on a range of legal questions, including whether a convict can be asked to undergo more than one life term in a case or cases.

The bench -- comprising justices FMI Kalifulla, AK Sikri, SA Bobde and R Banumati -- held that the trial courts and the high courts can award a term sentence along with life imprisonment simultaneously in a case where the convict may be asked to first undergo term sentence and then the life sentence.

The judgement came on a batch of petitions, including the one filed by A Muthuramalingam on award of sentence in a case and whether they would run concurrently or consecutively.