Types of Punishment Under IPC

The motive of punishing a wrongdoer is to stop him from committing the same crime again. Punishment is also given to set an example for society so that people know the consequences of committing a crime. It is a method of social control that the government uses to uphold law and order and discourage people from breaking the law. Laws and rules control the legal process of punishment, and to maintain justice and fairness, they must follow specific rules and guidelines. Section 53 of Chapter 3 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 deals with punishment. Section 53 consists of various types of punishment imposed on an offender for committing an offence.

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This Story also Contains

1. Objective of Punishment
2. Types of Punishment under Section 53 of IPC
3. Conclusion

Objective of Punishment

The objective of imposing punishment is to save society from potential criminals and set an example for other people living in society about the consequences of punishment. Punishment aims to prevent criminals from committing further offences in the future. Punishment also acts as a mode of eradicating social evils as a crime affects the society as a whole and turns the offenders into law-abiding citizens. In punishment, justice is provided by inflicting pain on the offender to deter offenders from indulging in any offences and reforming them to not repeat any such act.

Types of Punishment under Section 53 of IPC

According to section 53 of IPC, there are six types of punishment

1. Death Penalty or Capital Punishment

2. Life Imprisonment

3. Imprisonment

• Rigorous

• Simple

4. Forfeiture of Property

5. Fine

6. Solitary Confinement

Death Penalty or Capital Punishment

Courts can sentence someone to death for crimes including murder, rape, abetment, kidnapping, etc. A person subjected to the death penalty is hanged until they die. The death sentence, commonly referred to as capital punishment, is mostly applied in the most exceptional circumstances in India. To ensure that no innocent person is hanged, the death sentence is subject to numerous laws due to humanitarian concerns and human rights violations.

In the case of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab

In this case, the legality of the death penalty was maintained, but the court limited its application to the most exceptional circumstances. If this theory applies to the case, the death penalty might be applied.

In the case of Holiram Bardkoti v. State of Assam

In this case, There were seventeen people charged. The Sessions Judge imposed the death punishment on the appellant, one of the accused, under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the IPC. The Assamese High Court has confirmed the same. The defendant was in custody in connection with the deaths of Narayan Bordoloi, Padam Bordoloi, and Nayanmoni, a 6-year-old girl. The appellant's lack of warmth or sympathy during the burning and dismemberment of the bodies, as well as the entire incident, outraged the community's collective conscience, the Supreme Court noted. Consequently, the Apex Court maintained the decision made by the lower courts and noted that it was unable to identify any circumstances that would allow the court to avoid imposing the death penalty.

Following are offences commissions which lead to capital Punishment-

• Section 115- Abetment for a crime shall be punished with capital punishment or life imprisonment

• Section 118- Helping to commit a crime shall be punished with capital punishment or life imprisonment

• Section 121- Wagerig, abetment of armed rebellion and disturbing the peace and prosperity of the country shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment

• Section 132- Supporting in establishing and encouraging military rebellion shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment.

• Section 194- presenting false evidence to escape from the death sentence shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment.

• Section 302- Muder shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment

• Section 303- A person who is already in life imprisonment and commits murder shall be punished with a death sentence and life imprisonment

• Section 305- Abetment of suicide in case of minor and maniac person shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment

• Section 364A- Offence of kidnap shall be punished with a death sentence and life imprisonment.

• Section 376A- Offence of Rape shall be punished with capital punishment and life imprisonment.

• Section 396- Offence of dacoity along with murder shall be punished with a death sentence and life imprisonment

Moreover, there are exceptions to a death sentence, According to Section 416 of CrPC a pregnant woman cannot be sentenced to death and the sentence will be postponed or changed to lifetime imprisonment.

Life Imprisonment

The Indian Penal Code 1860's Section 57 addresses life in jail. Act XXVI of 1955 substituted "imprisonment for life" for "transportation for life." This states that a criminal's sentence cannot be reduced to a fixed term or be pardoned for good behaviour; instead, the offender must serve their entire life in jail until they pass away.

According to Section 57, a life sentence is the same as 20 years in prison. But for calculating sentence fractions, a life sentence will only be equated to 20 years in prison. A life sentence without the possibility of release has no set duration, nevertheless.

Furthermore, per Sections 55 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and 433(b) of the Crpc, the relevant authorities or government may shorten the sentence or halt it altogether. Additionally, the law stipulates that a state government may petition the relevant court to shorten or postpone the term.

In the case of Duryodhan Rout v. State of Orissa

In this case, the Apex court took up the question of whether life imprisonment should be confined to 14 years or not. The court in this case declared according to Section 55 of IPC and Section 433 and 433A of CrPC that life imprisonment should not only confined to 14 years of imprisonment. Only the appropriate authority or government has the power to commute the Punishment of life imprisonment

Imprisonment

The meaning of imprisonment is putting an offender in prison for a certain amount of time depending on the offence committed. According to Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 imprisonment are of two types. They are -

Simple imprisonment

The punishment of simple imprisonment is generally imposed for non-serious crimes. In simple imprisonment, the offender or the prisoner is not put into any hard labour which is not in the case of rigorous imprisonment. In simple imprisonment, the offender is ordered to do light jobs and duties.

Rigorous Imprisonment

Rigorous imprisonment is opposite to simple imprisonment, in rigorous imprisonment the offender is put to hard labour. Hard labour such as work of carpenters, earth digging, cleaning and washing, and other work that is hard to perform.

In the case of Supreme Court of Gujarat v. Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat

In this case, it was clarified by the Supreme Court that the prisoners who are put into hard labour in rigorous imprisonment should be paid an amount as salary for the work they have done.

The prisoners in jail have to work inside the jail as per the law. The work that they do is either voluntarily done or can be forced according to the punishment. The wages paid to the prisoners for their work inside the jail are decided based on their skills and experience.

The first High Court to take the lead in providing minimum salaries to inmates was Kerala High Court. The Indian Prisons Bill of 1996 was suggested by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in response to the Mulla Committee's suggestion. It was stipulated in the Bill that wages must be reasonable, sufficient, and equitable. The minimum wage rate must take into account the needs of the agricultural, industrial, and other sectors in each State and Union territory. There will also be set work units for this minimal wage. The amount of salaries that remain after deducting the average per capita cost of clothes and food will be given to the inmates.

Forfeiture of Property

Forfeiture of property means when the government on the court order seizes an offender's property. Seizing of property generally means the offender’s property is under the control of the appropriate authorities and the offender or his family no longer can avail of the benefits coming out of the property or any rights out of the property as such. The property that has been seized or forfeited can either be movable or immovable.

Under the following two provisions, the punishment for forfeiture of property is imposed-

• Under section 126 of IPC- committing damage to the neighbouring territories which is in peace with the Indian Government.

• Under Section 127 of IPC- For receiving any damaged property during war as mentioned in Section 126 of IPC.

Fine

The court can impose the fine in place of, in addition to, or as the only form of punishment other than jail time. The court has the authority to determine whether to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both in a certain case. If a person does not pay the fine, the court may order imprisonment under section 64 of the IPC

In the case of, Palaniappa Gounder v. State of Tamil Nadu

In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the length of the punishment, including the fine, should be appropriate for the type of offence committed. Furthermore, the penalty can't be unreasonably harsh.

Solitary confinement

Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 deals with the punishment of Solitary Confinement. In solitary confinement, an offender is kept in isolation from the outside world without any contact with the world outside the cell where the offender is confined. This punishment is inspired by reformative theory, in this punishment the motive is to reform the mindset of the criminal.

According to section 74 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the punishment of solitary confinement cannot be for a term of whole imprisonment but it can only be imposed in intervals of time.

The provisions under Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 are-

• Solitary confinement cannot be longer than one month if the sentence is for less than or equal to six months.

• Solitary confinement cannot be longer than two months if the sentence is longer than six months but less than a year.

• Solitary confinement may be used for a maximum of three months if the sentence is more than a year, but not longer.

In the case of Sunil Batra Etc v. Delhi Administration And Ors.

In this case, the court decided that the punishment of solitary confinement should not be ordered until and unless the offender has committed such a crime which makes it deemed to be imposed with the punishment of solitary confinement. The offence should be heinous and brutal to impose such punishment. Moreover, the court observed that the punishment of solitary confinement is inhuman and disturbs the mind of a person.

Conclusion

This article describes the different types of punishment under section 53 of the Indian Penal Code 1860. A punishment is imposed on an offender to bring a reform in the offender to make him a law-abiding citizen. The main objective of punishment is to maintain law and order in the society and prevent future crimes from happening. Punishment also sets an example for society so that an offender knows the consequences of committing a crime.