RAKESH KUMAR GARG, J. - (1.) IN all these petitions, the petitioner was convicted vide judgment dated 09.09.2006 passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Fatehgarh Sahib, for an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act 1881 (herein referred 'the Act') and was ordered to undergo the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- and in default of payment of fine to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months with a stipulation that period of detention already undergone by him be set off against the substantive period of imprisonment.
(2.) IT may also be noticed that all the three cases relates to separate instances of cheque bouncing and three separate judgments were passed on three complaints. The petitioners challenged the aforesaid order of conviction and sentence before the Additional Sessions Judge, Fatehgarh Sahib by filing separate appeals. However, the same were dismissed vide judgment dated 02.03.2009. These three petitions have been filed after a lapse of almost about three years and petitioners are about to complete substantive period of their sentence, in all the three cases.
(3.) IT is also a matter of record that petitioners had earlier filed a Criminal Misc. No.5894 of 2010 (O&M) for issuance of a direction to the respondent No.2 to treat the period of imprisonment undergone by them as concurrently in all the petitions. However, this Court vide its judgment dated 10.08.2010 dismissed the said petition holding that the same was not maintainable as the petitioners had failed to invoke the provisions of Section 427 Cr.P.C. during the trial or in appeal.;