Article 72: Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases

Leading cases

• Union of India v. V. Sriharan (2015)Life imprisonment means imprisonment for the rest of the convict's life; by majority, constitutional courts may substitute death with a term beyond 14 years or whole life without remission; Section 435(1) consultation means concurrence.
• Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014)Undue, unexplained and inordinate executive delay in deciding mercy petitions, and insanity, are supervening circumstances on which death sentences may be commuted under Article 32, in all cases including TADA; fifteen death sentences were commuted and guidelines issued.

Questions on this article

10 questions in 22 of our papers cite Article 72. Try these from the free papers:

1. 1. In Kehar Singh v. Union of India (1989), the Supreme Court held, with respect to a petition to the President under Article 72, that:

   A.the petitioner has a right to be heard orally, in person or through counsel, before the President decidesB.there is no right to an oral hearing, and the President may take a view on the evidence different from the court'sC.the President is bound by the findings of fact recorded by the courts and cannot re-examine the evidenceD.the President must obtain the opinion of the Chief Justice of India before rejecting a mercy petition
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2. 2. Article 72(1)(c) gives the President power to grant pardons and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death. Article 72(3) provides that nothing in sub-clause (c) shall affect:

   A.the power of the Governor of a State to suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death under any law in forceB.the power of the High Court to confirm, modify or annul a sentence of death passed by a Court of SessionC.the power of the Governor of a State to pardon an offence against a law on a matter in the Union ListD.the power of an officer of the armed forces to suspend, remit or commute a sentence passed by a Court Martial
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