This article is authored by Gauri Bansal and edited by Mr. Anoop Prakash Awasthi, AOR and Adv. Prapti Singh.
SC/0111/1980
FACTS
Bachan Singh was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of three persons. The death penalty was upheld by the High Court. Appealing by special leave, he challenged the Constitutional validity of the death penalty provided in Section 354/3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CPC).
QUESTION OF LAW
Whether the imposition of death penalty under Section 302 IPC road with Section 354(3) CFC was arbitrary, unreasonable and unconstitutional and whether the facts found by the lower court would be considered “special reasons” for awarding the death sentence as is required under Section 3543) GPC
HELD
The Court in the said case dismissed the challenge to the constitutionality of Section 302 of the IPC, the Court held that “The ais fundamental freedom guaranteed under Article 19111 are not absolute rights. Firstly, they are subject to inherent restraints stemming from the reciprocal obligation of one member of a civil society to so use his rights as not to infringe or injure similar rights of another. This is on the principle sic uteri tuo ut alienum non loedos. Secondly, under Clause (2) to (6) these rights have been expressly made subject to the power of the State to impose reasonable restrictions, which may even extend to prohibition, on the exercise of those rights
“The expression “special reasons in the context of this provision, obviously means exceptional reasons founded on the exceptionally grove circumstances at the particular case relating to the crime as well as the criminal.”
The Apes Court, however, laid down the principle of rest of ro cases in awarding of the death penalty.
The Court said that it was to give sufficient weight to the mitigating circumstances pertaining to the criminal along with the aggravating circumstances relating to the crime.
“It is imperative to voice the concern that courts, aided by the broad illustrative guidelines indicated by us, will discharge the onerous function with evermore scrupulous care and humane concern, directed along the highroad of legislative policy out- lined in Section 354(3), viz., that for persons convicted of murder, life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence on exception….”
