In Brief
The appellant, convicted of kidnapping, dacoity, extortion, wrongful confinement, and offences under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, challenged the aggregate default sentences (10 years) imposed for non-payment of fines totalling ₹15.04 lakhs. The Supreme Court held that default sentences cannot run concurrently with each other; they must run consecutively to preserve the deterrent effect of mandatory fines, particularly under the MCOC Act. However, the Court reduced the individual quantum of default sentences from three years to one year for MCOC offences (3 years aggregate) and to one month each for IPC offences (4 months aggregate), yielding a total of 3 years 4 months default sentence, considering the appellant's financial hardship. The appeal was allowed in these modified terms.
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