The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that convicts sentenced to life imprisonment under gangrape provisions involving minors retain the right to seek remission, terming it not only a constitutional entitlement but also a statutory one.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan was hearing a plea questioning the constitutional validity of Section 376DA of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prescribes punishment for gangrape of a minor girl below 16 years of age.
The petitioner argued that the wording of Section 376DA — which states that the convict “shall” be punished with life imprisonment for the remainder of natural life — leaves no room for judicial discretion or consideration of mitigating factors.
The bench observed that such punishment imposed by a sessions court is appealable before a high court and subsequently the Supreme Court.
Crucially, the court held that even when a convict is sentenced to life imprisonment for the rest of their natural life under Sections 376DA or 376DB (gangrape of a girl below 12 years), the individual retains the right to seek remission.
“The right to seek remission is not only a constitutional right under Articles 72 and 161 but also a statutory right. Each state has its own remission policy, which applies even when the sentence is imposed under Section 376DA or Section 376DB,” the bench said.
Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution empower the President of India and the Governor of a state, respectively, to grant pardons, reprieves, or remissions.
The court, however, refrained from deciding the broader legal challenge to the prescription of a sole type of punishment under Section 376DA. It disposed of the plea while keeping the question of law open to be argued in an appropriate case.
The Centre, meanwhile, supported the constitutional validity of Section 376DA.
