Punishments

Section 53

• Section 53. Punishments.— The punishments to which offenders are liable under the
provisions of this Code are—
• First.—Death;
• [Secondly.—Imprisonment for life;]
• [***]
• Fourthly.—Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:—
• (1)Rigorous, that is, with hard labour;
• (2)Simple;
• Fifthly.—Forfeiture of property;
• Sixthly.—Fine.
 Death Sentence

• It is an order of judicial killing of the convict.

• However, in case of Section 302, IPC, the Supreme Court has clearly said that trial court
can award either sentence of death or life imprisonment but no other sentence. Since only
two options are given in the provision.
• Mode of Execution – Section 354(5) – hanging by neck till death
• Law Commission View – 35th Report and 262nd Report.
 Death Sentence – Emerging Issues

• Constitutional Validity – it was upheld by the Supreme Court in Bachan Singh v. State
of Punjab AIR 1980 SC 898.
• Rarest of Rare Doctrine – this doctrine was evolved by the Supreme Court in the above
case but its application has always been found to be arbitrary in light of discretion having
been subjectively exercised by the judges.
• Special Category Sentence or Fixed Term Life Imprisonment – this was evolved by
the Supreme Court in Swamy Shraddananda (2) v. State of Karnataka, (2008) 13 SCC
767 to deal with those cases wherein death sentence will be too harsh to award and life
imprisonment will be too less for the accused.
• The Court may award fixed term life imprisonment to the accused without commutation
(indirectly taking away the power of the state).
• However, this power can be exercised only the Constitutional Court and not by the trial
courts.
 Death Sentence – Emerging Issues

• Inordinate Delay in Disposal of Mercy Petitions – this issue was resolved by the
Supreme Court in Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014) 3 SCC 1, wherein the
convicts were languishing in prisons for more than 14 years waiting for the decision on
their mercy petitions.
• The Supreme Court held that it is one of the worst form of violation of human rights/
fundamental rights of the murder convicts. They live in fear all the time and die every
moment
 Life Imprisonment

• Life Imprisonment is provided by Section 53 as one of the punishment. With respect to

Life imprisonment – question always arises as to what is its actual duration – 14 years or
till the natural death of the convict in the prison.
• Generally the former is understood due to misunderstanding of Section 433 and 433-A of
the CrPC.
• However the Supreme Court has clarified in several Constitution Bench Judgments that
life imprisonment means – imprisonment till the natural death of the convict inside the
prison.
• Important Judgment is Gopal Vinayak Godse v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1961 SC 600.
• However, as per Section 57, whenever fraction of life imprisonment is to be calculated, it
will be 20 years.
 Imprisonment – Rigorous and Simple

• Phool Kumari v. Office of the Superintendent, Central Jail, Tihar, New Delhi, AIR
2012 SC 3198: (2012) 8 SCC 183
– Rigorous imprisonment is one which is required by law to be completed with hard
labour. While a person sentenced to simple imprisonment has the option of choosing
to work, a person sentenced to rigorous imprisonment is required by law to undergo
hard labour.
• Forfeiture –
– This punishment is generally abolished but may be found only under Section 126, 127
and 169 IPC.
– However, there is concern raised by the Supreme Court for restoring this punishment
in light of rising cases of corruption and public servants amassing huge wealth.
• Fine –
– Fine is a form of punishment which is generally in alternative to the substantive
punishment of imprisonment and in certain cases, only mode of punishment. It needs
to be paid by the convict and non-payment will not exonerate the accused from
criminal liability.
 Solitary Confinement and Its Limits – Section 73 and 74 IPC

• Section 73. Solitary confinement.—

• Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this Code the Court has
power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, by its sentence, order
that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of the
imprisonment to which he is sentenced, not exceeding three months in the whole,
according to the following scale, that is to say—
• a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months;
• a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and
shall not exceed one year;
• a time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed one year.
 Solitary Confinement and Its Limits – Section 73 and 74 IPC

• 74. Limit of solitary confinement.—

• In executing a sentence of solitary confinement, such confinement shall in no case exceed
fourteen days at a time, with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of not
less duration than such periods; and when the imprisonment awarded shall exceed three
months, the solitary confinement shall not exceed seven days in any one month of the
whole imprisonment awarded, with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement
of not less duration than such periods.
 New Trends in Punishments

• No amendment has been made since the enactment of the IPC for introducing new kind of
punishment keeping in line with modern penological thought.
• However, on certain occasions, the punishment of community service etc. have been
awarded by the constitutional courts.
 New Trends in Punishments

• Also, the Supreme Court is emphasising more on the mental health of the accused and the
mitigating factors while commuting death sentence into life imprisonment (even in cases
of rape and brutal murder of minor victims). In 2022, the Supreme Court has done so in
the following cases:
– Surendran vs State of Kerala [13th May, 2022 SC – 3 Judge Bench]
– Mohd Firoz v. State of Madhya Pradesh [19th April, 2022]
– Jai Prakash v. State of Uttarakhand [3 Judge Bench; 2nd March, 2022]
– Pappu v. State of Uttar Pradesh [3 Judge Bench; 09th Feb, 2022]
 Theories of Punishment
There are majorly four theories of punishment. These
theories are the
• Deterrent theory,
• Retributive theory,
• Preventive theory, and
• Reformative theory.
 Crime Causation Theories
1. Biological theories
2. Economic theories
3. Psychological theories
4. Political theories
5. Sociological theories
I. Strain theory
II. Social learning theory
III. Control theory
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