Image Based Question-65855

Who can commute a sentence shown in the picture below ?

A. High court.

B. Supreme court.

C. President.

D. Any of the above.

Show Answer

Correct Answer » C Explanation

Ans:C. President.

President an commute a death sentence.

Death Sentence

• Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime.

• After the award of the death sentence by a sessions court, the sentence must be confirmed by a High Court to make it final.

• Once confirmed, the condemned convict has the option of appealing to the Supreme Court.

• If this is not possible, or if the Supreme Court turns down the appeal or refuses to hear the petition, the condemned person can submit a ‘mercy petition’ to the President of India and the Governor of the State.

• The President and Governors, respectively have the power “to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence”

• The execution of death sentence in India is carried out by hanging by the neck till death.

Capital Offences in IPC

1. Section 121 Treason, for waging war against the Government of India
2. Section 132 Abetment of mutiny actually committed
3. Section 194 Perjury resulting in the conviction and death of an innocent person
4. Section 195A Threatening or inducing any person to give false evidence resulting in the conviction and death of an innocent person
5. Section 302 Murder
6. Section 305 Abetment of a suicide by a minor, insane person or intoxicated person
7. Section 307 (2) Attempted murder by a serving life convict
8. Section 364A Kidnapping for ransom
9. Section 376A Rape and injury which causes death or leaves the woman in a persistent vegetative state
10. Section 376E Certain repeat offenders in the context of rape.
11. Section 396 Dacoity with murder.

Categories of Offenders Excluded From the Death Penalty:

1. Individuals Below Age 18 At Time of Crime.
2. Pregnant Women.
3. Intellectually Disabled.
4. Mentally Ill.

• On 31 August 2015, the Law Commission of India submitted a report to the government which recommended the abolition of capital punishment for all crimes in India, excepting the crime of waging war against the nation or for terrorism-related offences. The report cited several factors to justify abolishing the death penalty, including its abolition by 140 other nations, its arbitrary and flawed application and its lack of any proven deterring effect on criminals.

• Although most nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world’s population live in countries where executions take place, such as China, India, the United States and Indonesia.

• The most recent country to abolish the death penalty was Guinea in July 2016.
  The first hanging in Independent India was that of Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case on 15 November 1949.