President's Pardoning Powers

President's Pardoning Powers

  • Context:

  • The President of India recently rejected the mercy petition of a convict involved in a heinous rape and murder case.

  • This marks the third mercy plea rejected by the President since assuming office in July 2022.

  • Constitutional Provisions:

  • Article 72 empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit, or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.

  • This power extends to:

  • Cases where the punishment is by a Court Martial.

  • Cases where the punishment is for an offence against a Union law.

  • All cases where the sentence is a sentence of death, irrespective of Union or State law

  • Thus, President’s pardoning power wider than that of the Governor.

  • Meaning of key terms:

  • Pardon completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments, and disqualifications.

  • Commutation is the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form

  • For example, death sentence to life imprisonment.

  • Remission is reducing the period of the sentence without changing its character.

  • Respite is awarding a lesser sentence due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.

  • Reprieve is a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period.

  • Nature of Pardoning Powers:

  • The pardoning power is an executive act, distinct from judicial power.

  • It is not an extension of the judicial process but a check to provide a human touch and correct potential judicial errors.

  • Nature of the Power: It is a constitutional power, not a statutory or discretionary grace. It is intended to:

  • Correct judicial errors

  • Mitigate undue harshness

  • Introduce a humanitarian element into criminal justice

  • Aid and Advice of Council of Ministers

  • Article 74(1): The President exercises this power on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

  • President cannot exercise independent discretion in pardoning matters.

  • President may return advice once for reconsideration, but is bound thereafter.

  • The power is subject to limited judicial review.

  • It can be challenged if the decision is arbitrary, irrational, mala fide, or passed without application of mind.

  • President is constitutionally superior in death sentence cases, even if the Governor has rejected the mercy petition earlier.