Whether the Trial Court has discretion while awarding concurrent or consecutive sentences to an accused in a criminal trial?

Question: Whether the Trial Court has discretion while awarding concurrent or consecutive sentences to an accused in a criminal trial? [JJS 2018]

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Answer

In criminal trials, when an accused is convicted of multiple offences, the question arises whether the sentences for these offences should run concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after the other). The answer to this question significantly impacts the accused's total imprisonment duration.

The trial court has the discretion to direct whether the imprisonment should run concurrently or consecutively and this discretion of the court is guided by Section 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973.

Section 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lays down a provision regarding “Sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial”. The provision runs down as given below:-

(1) When a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences, the Court may, subject to the provisions of section 71 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), sentence him for such offences, to several punishments, prescribed therefore which such Court is competent to inflict; such punishments when consisting of imprisonment to commence the one after the expiration of the other in such order as the Court may direct, unless the Court directs that such punishments shall run concurrently.
(2) In the case of consecutive sentences, it shall not be necessary for the Court by reason only of the aggregate punishment for the several offences being in excess of the punishment which it is competent to inflict on conviction of a single offence, to send the offender for trial before a higher Court:

Provided that--
(a) in no case shall such person be sentenced to imprisonment for a longer period than fourteen years;
(b) the aggregate punishment shall not exceed twice the amount of punishment which the Court is competent to inflict for a single offence.
(3) For the purpose of appeal by a convicted person, the aggregate of the consecutive sentences passed against him under this section shall be deemed to be a single sentence.

The discretion to order the running of sentences concurrently or consecutively is the judicial discretion of the Court which is to be exercised as per established law of sentencing. The court before exercising its discretion u/s 31 is required to consider the totality of the facts and circumstances of those offences against the accused while deciding whether sentences are to run consecutively or concurrently.

The words in Section 31 Code of Criminal Procedure “….sentence him for such offences, to the several punishments prescribed therefor which such Court is competent to inflict; such punishments when consisting of imprisonment to commence the one after the expiration of the other in such order as the Court may direct” indicate that in case, the Court directs sentences to run one after the other, the Court has to specify the order in which the sentences are to run. If the Court directs the running of sentences concurrently, the order of running of sentences is not required to be mentioned.

The objective of section 31 is to ensure that the punishment is proportionate to the crimes committed and serves the ends of justice effectively.