🏛️ Polity
Two life sentences cannot run one after another, Supreme Court rules
In 60 seconds: The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that life sentences for different crimes cannot be made to run consecutively, because a person has only one life. A man had been given two life terms, for murder and for rape, which the trial court and Bombay High Court ordered to run one after another. The court said the terms will be superimposed, so remission in one will not automatically cancel the other.
Why it matters
The ruling keeps sentencing consistent across courts and clarifies how remission works for prisoners serving more than one life term.
Explain it simply
You have only one lifetime of chai to drink, so you cannot finish one lifetime and then start a second. Two life terms are like two cups poured into the same glass: they run together.
The 3-minute read
What happened
A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli partly allowed the appeal in Raju Shantaram Koli v State of Maharashtra and set aside the part of the High Court ruling on consecutive life terms.
Background
The court relied on the 2016 Constitution Bench ruling in Muthuramalingam, which called ordering 'imprisonment for life twice over' anomalous and irrational.
How it works
Superimposed sentences run together. If the government grants remission or commutation in one case, the other life term still has to be served unless it is also remitted.
What's next
The rest of the High Court's judgment, including the conviction, stands. The convict will serve both life terms together.
What it means for you
Life imprisonment in India generally means prison for the rest of one's natural life, unless the government grants remission.
Key numbers
- 2: Life terms given to the convict
- 2016: Year of the Muthuramalingam Constitution Bench ruling
- 2: Judges on the bench
Both sides
- Supporters of the ruling: It follows settled law and keeps sentencing logical, since a person has only one life.
- Victims' advocates: Separate crimes like murder and rape deserve to be punished separately, with no easy route to release.
Key terms explained
- Remission
- Cutting short the period of a sentence without changing its nature.
- Consecutive sentences
- Sentences served one after the other, instead of at the same time.
The story so far
- 2016: Constitution Bench rules life terms cannot run one after another. In Muthuramalingam v State, a Constitution Bench held that several life sentences can be given for several crimes but cannot be ordered to run consecutively; they are superimposed on each other.
- 30 Jul 2026: Five-judge bench upholds 'rest of natural life' sentences without remission. A five-judge bench held that constitutional courts may order a life sentence to last for the rest of natural life, beyond the ordinary remission system.
- Today: SC: life terms for different crimes run together, not one after another
Exam notes (UPSC, SSC, Banking, PSC)
- Article 72 gives the President, and Article 161 the Governor, the power to grant pardons, remissions and commutations.
- Remission by the appropriate government was under Section 432 of the CrPC; it is now under Section 473 of the BNSS, 2023.
- Article 145(3) requires at least five judges to decide a substantial question of constitutional interpretation (a Constitution Bench).
- Murder was punishable under Section 302 of the IPC; it is now Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Likely exam question: Distinguish between remission, commutation and pardon. Who can grant them under the Constitution?