Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab||Case Summary || 1980 2 SCC 684 || Death Penalty for Murder

Death penalty for murder

FACTS 

Here, the appellant Bachan Singh, a convicted murderer of 3, namely: Desa Singh, Durga Bai and Veeran Bai, sentenced to death by a Sessions Court and having the order upheld by the High Court, appeals to the Supreme Court raising the question of the constitutional validity of his death sentence under Section 302 of IPC and if his case would fall under the purview of ‘special reasons’ under Section 354(3) of CrPc challenging it with Articles 21, 19 and 14.

ISSUES

Prominent issues raised were about the punishment of death penalty and if the procedure to sentence the same is unconstitutional or in violation of fundamental rights. Issues with the procedure were of the power granted to the courts to arbitrarily sentence any person convicted of any offence punishable with death penalty or life imprisonment to death.

RELEVANT LAWS

1. Section 302 IPC: Punishment for Murder. This section of the Indian Penal Code states that whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to pay a fine. 

2. Section 354(3) CrPc: This section of The Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that when the conviction is for an offence punishable with death, life imprisonment or a term of years, the judgement must state the reasons for the sentence and a special reason for any death sentence awarded.

RELEVANT ARTICLES

1. Article 14: This article ensures that everyone regardless of their background or status is treated equally under the law.

2. Article 32: ‘Right to Constitutional Remedies’, empowers citizens to approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of their fundamental rights if they are violated.

3. Article 19: This articles guarantees the Right to freedom of speech and expression, to peaceful assembly, to form associations and to move freely within the territory.

4. Article 21: This guarantees the Right to Life and Personal Liberty and protects against the deprivation of the same except according to procedure established by law.

JUDGEMENT

The Supreme Court in the case of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, dismissed the appeal with majority opinion and dismissed the challenge to the constitutionality of Section 302 of the IPC as well as Section 354(3) of the CrPc. The Court held that Death penalty is only an alternative to other punishments stated for murder under Section 302 of IPC and it cannot be considered unreasonable or not in public interest as the Parliament had already taken it into review while replacing the Code of 1898 with CrPc 1973. While the Court did not hold death penalty as unconstitutional, it established a doctrine of ‘rarest of the rare’, which would mandate that only cases falling in the ‘rarest of the rare’ category will be punishable by death and that too after special reasoning is provided.

Vinita Pathak