Sessions court cannot order jail term for ‘rest of natural life without remission’, says SC, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court ruled that only Constitutional Courts (SC and High Courts) can sentence convicts to imprisonment for the rest of their natural life without remission.
• Sessions Courts cannot impose sentences that take away the right of remission or commutation guaranteed by the Constitution.
• The ruling clarified that life imprisonment means imprisonment for the entire life, subject to remission and commutation under CrPC and Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution.
• The case involved an appeal challenging a Karnataka High Court order convicting a man for murder, where the trial court had imposed a sentence of imprisonment without remission.

Detailed Insights:

• The concept of life imprisonment without remission evolved to address heinous crimes, balancing proportionate punishment with avoiding the irreversible penalty of death.
• The Supreme Court in the Swamy Shraddananda case (2008) introduced the concept of alternative sentencing for heinous crimes to avoid standardization in sentencing.
• The 2016 ruling in Union of India vs V Sriharan alias Murugan and Others reaffirmed that only Constitutional Courts can impose life imprisonment without remission, protecting powers under Articles 72 & 161.
• Section 428 CrPC cannot be curtailed by a Sessions Court, as it is a provision available in the code that created it.
• The Supreme Court upheld the conviction but modified the sentence to imprisonment for life, clarifying that the power of remission or commutation conferred on the State cannot be taken away.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Remission: Reduction of a sentence by the government.
• Commutation: Substitution of a punishment with a less severe one.
• CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code): The main legislation on procedure for criminal law in India.
• Article 72 & 161: Articles in the Constitution dealing with the President's and Governors' power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment.