1 of 4 12-WP-2104-25 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 2104 OF 2025 Balendrasingh Shivmurtisingh Thakur ..Petitioner Versus The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ..Respondents __________ Ms. Ankita Naik for Petitioner. Ms. Supriya Kak, APP for State/Respondent. __________ CORAM : SARANG V. KOTWAL & RANJITSINHA RAJA BHONSALE, JJ. DATE : 8 SEPTEMBER 2026 PC : 1. The Petitioner has challenged the order dated 05.06.2024 passed by the State of Maharashtra. Vide the impugned order, the Petitioner was placed in the Category 6(c) mentioned in the G.R. dated 15.03.2010. Accordingly, he is required to complete 30 years of imprisonment with remission. 2. Learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner’s case falls within the Category 4(e) which provides for imprisonment of 26 years including the remission. Gokhale VINOD BHASKAR GOKHALE Digitally signed by VINOD BHASKAR GOKHALE Date: 2026.09.09 11:26:07 +0530 2 of 4 12-WP-2104-25 3. Learned APP produced the copies of the trial Court’s Judgment, as well as, the Judgment passed by this Court at Aurangabad Bench in respect of the Petitioner’s conviction and sentence. She submitted that the impugned order is correct and the Petitioner’s case falls within the Category 6(c) of the said G.R. 4. We have considered these submissions. The copies of the operative parts of the aforementioned Judgments are taken on record and marked ‘X’ for identification collectively. The Petitioner was the original Accused No.6 in Sessions Case No.51 of 2008 before the Additional Sessions Judge at Ahmednagar. He was convicted for the offence punishable U/s.396 of the IPC and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10000/- and in default to suffer R.I. for one year. He was also convicted for commission of the offences punishable under sections 397, 452 r/w. 34 and 412 of the IPC, but for those offences lesser sentence was awarded under different heads. Significantly, he was separately convicted for commission of the offence punishable U/s.396 r/w. 120B of the IPC and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of 3 of 4 12-WP-2104-25 Rs.5000/- and in default to suffer R.I. for six months. Thus, he was imposed two separate sentences for life imprisonment by the impugned Judgment and order dated 21.10.2013 passed by the learned Trial Judge. This Court at Aurangabad Bench confirmed the conviction and sentence imposed on the Petitioner. With the result, he was sentenced to two separate sentences of life imprisonment in this case. 5. The G.R. dated 15.03.2010 No.RLP-1006/C.R.621/PRS-3 lays down different categories in Annexure-I and Annexure-II. The Category 6(c) provides 30 years of imprisonment including set off period and remission in case of convict awarded more than one life imprisonment and the sentences running concurrently. The Petitioner’s case squarely falls within that category. We are unable to agree with the submission of the learned counsel for the Petitioner that his case falls within the Category 4(e) which lays down the period of imprisonment as 26 years in case of murder committed by dacoits in the act of committing dacoity. The Category 6(c) is a special category where the convicts were imposed more than one life imprisonment and the sentences 4 of 4 12-WP-2104-25 running concurrently. 6. In this view of the matter, we do not find any error in the impugned order passed by the State of Maharashtra. We find no merit in the petition. The Petition is dismissed. (RANJITSINHA RAJA BHONSALE, J.) (SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.)