| GyanCentral - The hub for engineering and law students - IIT-JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT, CLAT, AILET - 2012: Pardoning Power of the President Oct 30th 2012, 10:16 | GyanCentral - The hub for engineering and law students - IIT-JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT, CLAT, AILET - 2012 | | The source for all engineering and legal education news in India | | | Pardoning Power of the President Oct 30th 2012, 09:32 A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of state, such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church authority. The Power of Pardon was historically vested in the British monarch. At common law, a pardon was an act of mercy whereby the king "forgives any crime, offence, punishment, execution, right, title, debt, or duty." This power was absolute, unfettered and not subject to any judicial scrutiny. Provisions in the Constitution of India The Indian Constitution grants clemency powers to the President and Governors of states respectively through Article 72 and Article 161 of the Constitution of India. Article 72- Power of president to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases. Article 161- Power of Governor to grant pardons, etc, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases History of Pardon power Before the Constitution came into force, the law of pardon in India was the same as the one in England since the sovereign of England was the sovereign of India. From 1935 onwards, the law of pardon was contained in Section 295 of the Government of India Act which did not limit the power of the Sovereign. The result was up to the coming into force of the Constitution, the 'exercise of the King's prerogative was plenary, unfettered and exercisable as hitherto.' Judicial Review The power of pardon under Article 72 was reviewed in the two landmark cases of Maru Ram v Union of India and Kehar Singh v Union of India. In Maru Ram, It was observed: "Considerations for exercise of power under Articles 72/161 may be myriad and their occasions protean, and are left to the appropriate Government, but no consideration nor occasion can be wholly irrelevant, irrational, discriminatory or mala fide. Only in these rare cases will the court examine the exercise." In India the death penalty is carried out by hanging. Since 1995(Auto Shankar) it has been used only once, in 2004 on Dhananjoy Chatterjee for rape and murder. it created quite a storm when it became known that Former Indian president Pratibha Patil commuted the death sentence of as many as 35 convicts to life near the end of her 5 year term as the president including 4 on the same day(June 2). |  | | |  |  |
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