POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA TO GRANT PARDON :

 

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA TO GRANT PARDON :  

PLEASE NOTE : IT IS ONLY FOR CANDIDATES WHO ARE PREPARING FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMINAITONS.

FOR ANY CLARIFICATION PLEASE REFER TO ANY PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOK

According to Article 72 of the Constitution of India, the President of India has power to grant pardon to persons : - 

1)Who have been convicted for a crime by the court of law  or 

2)Who have been convicted by the Military Courts (Court Martial)  or 

3)Who have been convicted of a death sentence

The power of President of India to grant pardon includes the following :- 

1)Pardon

2)Commutation

3)Remission

4)Respite

5) Reprieve 

1)Pardon : The grant of pardon removes both the sentence and the conviction and bsolves the convict from all disqualifications and punishments. It has the effect as if the convict has not committed any crime at all. 

2) Commutation : Under Commutation, one form of punishment is substituted by another punishment of a lighter character. 

For example, the punishment of death may be substituted by the rigorous punishment  or the rigorous punishment may be substituted by the simple punishment.

Thus, the commutation changes like character of the punishment but like pardon, it does not remove conviction at all.  . 

3)Remission : Remission has the effect of reducing the punishment without changing its character . 

For example, the rigorous punishment of two years may be reduced to rigorous punishment of one year. But it will always remain a rigorous punishment because its character cannot be changed by the remission.  

4)Respite: Respite means awarding a lesser punishment in place of the given punishment due to some special fact. 

For example,  a  person with disabilities  (PwD) may be given lesser punishment in place of rigorous punishment due to his special physical condition. 

5) Reprieve: Reprieve has the effect of staying the execution of a punishment for the time being in order to allow the time for disposing the pending application for pardon, commutation etc 

This is a temporary concession given to the convict from immediate execution of a sentence. 

Sl.No.	Type of pardoning	For easy understanding , what is the effect?
1	Pardon	The convict will be totally free
2	Commutation	Punishment may be substituted from rigorous to simple
3	Remission	Punishment period  may be reduced  but its character cannot be changed
4	Respite	Lesser punishment because of the person’s physical disabilities etc.
5	Reprieve	It is the  staying of execution of punishment.  It is a  temporary concession