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6. For the reason that the decisions aforesaid were silent on the point of concurrent or consecutive running of sentences, the Jail Superintendent, District Jail, Meerut, while issuing certificates of confinement on 14.03.2018, stated that the accused-appellants had undergone 10 years and 1 month of imprisonment but, there being no mention in the sentencing order about concurrent running of sentences, they were serving 22 years of imprisonment. Faced with such a predicament, the accused-appellants have approached this Court.

8.3. The learned AAG for the State would submit that concurrent running of sentences, as provided in any particular case, relates to the facts and circumstances pertaining to that case and the appellants cannot claim any parity for concurrent running of sentences with reference to any other decided case, even if relating to the offences of similar nature. The learned AAG would argue that in the present case, looking to the nature and gravity of offences, the Trial Court has exercised its discretion in not directing concurrent running of sentences, which only means that the sentences are to run consecutively; and that an omission on the part of the Trial Court in not specifying the order of running cannot mean that the sentences are to run concurrently.

9. We have given thoughtful consideration to the rival submissions and have examined the record of the case with reference to the law applicable.

10. The contentions urged in this matter essentially revolve around the provisions contained in Section 31(1) CrPC. The contours of these provisions have been succinctly delineated and explained by this Court in the case of O.M. Cherian (supra) in the following terms: -

“20. Under Section 31 CrPC it is left to the full discretion of the court to order the sentences to run concurrently in case of conviction for two or more offences. It is difficult to lay down any straitjacket approach in the matter of exercise of such discretion by the courts. By and large, trial courts and appellate courts have invoked and exercised their discretion to issue directions for concurrent running of sentences, favouring the benefit to be given to the accused. Whether a direction for concurrent running of sentences ought to be issued in a given case would depend upon the nature of the offence or offences committed and the facts and circumstances of the case. The discretion has to be exercised along the judicial lines and not mechanically.
21. Accordingly, we answer the reference by holding that Section 31 CrPC leaves full discretion with the court to order sentences for two or more offences at one trial to run concurrently, having regard to the nature of offences and attendant aggravating or mitigating circumstances. We do not find any reason to hold that normal rule is to order the sentence to be consecutive and exception is to make the sentences concurrent. Of course, if the court does not order the sentence to be concurrent, one sentence may run after the other, in such order as the court may direct. We also do not find any conflict in the earlier judgment in Mohd. Akhtar Hussain and Section 31 CrPC.” 10.1. In Muthuramalingam (supra), the basic question before the Constitution Bench was as to whether consecutive life sentences could be awarded to a convict on being found guilty of a series of murders, for which, he had been tried in a single trial. In the course of determination of this question, the Constitution Bench dealt with several dimensions of sentencing, particularly those relating to multiple sentences and observed, inter alia, that,-