Mercy: Articles 72 and 161
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Syllabus topic 3, "The Problems of Capital Punishment"
Pages 272 to 275 of 806
In one line
Mercy is the one point in the process at which a decision about a death sentence is taken by somebody who is not a judge, and the Sanhita of 2023 has given it a statutory procedure for the first time.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: Article 72 empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence, in three classes of case including in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death. Article 161 gives the Governor a corresponding power in relation to matters to which the executive power of the State extends. Both powers are exercised on the advice of the Council of Ministers. Section 472 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 now prescribes, for the first time, a procedure and time limits for a mercy petition in a death sentence case.
The two Articles
Article 72(1). The President shall 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:
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial;
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends; and
- in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
Article 161. The Governor of a State shall 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 against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends.
Two differences to notice. The Governor's power does not extend to a court martial, and it is not expressed to cover all death sentences: it covers offences against laws within the State's executive power, which will include most murders. In practice both may act on a death sentence, and section 476 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 preserves the Central Government's concurrent statutory power in death sentence cases.
The five words
Students confuse these and MU may ask for them.
| Word | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pardon | Absolves the offender of the sentence and of its consequences and disqualifications |
| Reprieve | A temporary stay of execution, to allow the sentence to be reconsidered |
| Respite | The award of a lesser sentence on a special ground, such as the pregnancy of the offender |
| Remission | Reduction of the quantum of the sentence without changing its kind |
| Commutation | Substitution of a lighter kind of punishment for a heavier one |
| Suspension | Postponement of the operation of the sentence |
The rest of this chapter
Module one is free. The rest of this chapter comes with the LL.M. Criminal Law and Criminal Administration Semester 3 notes.
You are reading a chapter from a later module. Everything in module one of every subject stays free, and so does every question paper and the syllabus.
Notes + Solved papers: ₹798 Already bought it? Sign in
Or notes only: ₹499
Or solved papers only: ₹499
Free either way: question papers, the syllabus, and module one of every subject.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.