Governor’s pardon power overrides 433A: SC

• The Supreme Court held that the Governor of a State can pardon prisoners even before they have served a minimum of 14 years of the prison sentence.
• The Court also said that the Governor’s power to pardon overrides Section 433A of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
• The court was considering an appeal filed by the State against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order which directed it to consider fresh policies in respect of exercise of powers conferred under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Key points:

• The sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.
• The advice of the appropriate government binds the Head of the State.
• If the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment, the Governor has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, and remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person,
• The court held that the power conferred on the Governor, though exercised on the aid and advice of the State, is without any restriction of the actual period of imprisonment undergone by the prisoner.
• Section 433-A cannot affect the constitutional power conferred on the President or Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
• Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the Government to remit sentences.

Section 433A in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973:

• If a sentence of imprisonment for life is imposed on conviction of a person for an offense for which death is one of the punishments provided by law, or where a sentence of death imposed on a person has been commuted into one of imprisonment for life, such person shall not be released from prison unless he had served at least fourteen years of imprisonment.

Pardoning Power of Governor:

• Article 161 of the Indian constitution provides that the Governor of a State with the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or to remit punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense against laws.

Limitations:

• The Governor cannot pardon the death sentence (the President can do). But the Governor can suspend, remit or commute the death sentence.
• The Governor cannot grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension, remission, or commutation in respect to punishment or sentence by a court-martial. However, the President can do so.
• Governor can not grant pardon in cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial but the President can do so.

Pardoning Power of the President:

• Under Article 72 of the Constitution, 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 where the sentence is a sentence of death.

• Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.

• Commutation: It denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form.

• Remission: It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character.

• Respite: It denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.

• Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation.