The document discusses sentencing policy and process in India, noting that India currently lacks structured sentencing guidelines. It outlines several Supreme Court cases related to sentencing and reviews committees that have recommended developing statutory sentencing guidelines to minimize disparities caused by judges' discretion and promote uniformity and consistency in sentencing. The need for sentencing reforms through guidelines or legislation is emphasized to rationalize the sentencing process in India's criminal justice system.

1. Dr. Santosh Pratap Singh
LL.M. NET Ph.D.
AGRA
15 December 2023 1

2. SENTENCING POLICY AND PROCESS
IN
INDIA
15 December 2023 2

3. Respected Audience
 Introduction
 Sentencing Policy & Process in India
 Supreme Court Views on Sentencing in India
 Conclusion
 Suggestions
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4.  The sentencing policy of a country reflects the
morale, rationale and the judgement present in the
country. It helps to establish a certain degree of
punishment and hence the law of a particular
society, in order to reduce the existence of a crime
through reprimanding, rehabilitation or any other
lawful or justified procedure.
 This continuous development has led to a disparity
in this sentencing policy. A disparity particularly
exists depending upon the discretion of the judges,
i.e. their decisions and judgements. This leads to
an inconsistency in the system and a continuous
routine of disparity in what can be considered the
ideal and just ‘punishment’ for a particular offence.
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5.  Sentencing is a crucial part of the criminal justice system
where the judge imposes an actual punishment upon the
convict. The ultimate goal of providing a convict with an
appropriate sentence is to deter him as well as discourage
others from making similar offences in the future.
 It presents a critical discussion of justification of punishment
meaning thereby why a criminal deserves to be punished and
objects expected to be satisfied through sentencing or a
theoretical perspective and objects sought to be achieved with
it. Every sentencing has to with certainty, uniformity and
justness
 The root cause of sentence-disparity is thus the arbitrary,
unscientific, unjustified exercise of judicial discretion on
sentencing which is mainly based on guess work..
 Currently India does not have structured sentencing guidelines
that have been issued either by the legislature or the judiciary.
 the Malimath Committee report-sentencing guidelines in order
to minimize uncertainty in awarding sentences
 In 2008, the Committee on Draft National Policy on Criminal -
reasserted the need for statutory sentencing guidelines
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6.  Sentence is the quantum of punishment ordered to
be inflicted upon the convict fixed under a deep
consideration to the aggravating and mitigating
factors responsible for the commission of some
offence or sentence is an individualised form of
punishment.
 Sentence is the quantum of punishment ordered to
be inflicted upon the convict fixed under a deep
consideration to the aggravating and mitigating
factors responsible for the commission of some
offence or sentence is an individualised form of
punishment.
 Unguided discretionary power to judges leaves huge
space for the construction of terms according to their
own perspectives which has a risk of arbitrariness in
judicial functioning.
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7.  The Malimath Committee (2003) recommended a
committee to be constituted to frame sentencing
guidelines under the chairmanship of former Judge of the
Supreme Court or Chief Justice of High Court having
experience of handling matters of criminal law with other
members from legal profession, prosecution, police,
social scientists and women representatives.
 In 2007, another committee named ‘Draft National Policy
on Criminal Justice’ was constituted under the
chairmanship of Prof. Madhav Menon also known as the
Madhav Menon Committee reechoed the voice for need
of statutory sentencing guidelines. This committee urged
for framing a national policy on sentencing having
specific sentencing guidelines in respect of each
punishment.
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8. Many cases came the point---
 Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab: In this case Hon’ble Supreme
Court declaring death sentence constitutionally valid has held
that the death sentence could be awarded in cases falling into
the category of the ‘Rarest of rare’. This case first time issued
judicial guidelines to regulate death penalty in India.
AIR 1980 SC 898
 Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab: In this case Hon’ble Supreme
Court favouring the retention of death sentence has held that
death sentence could be awarded in the ‘Rarest of rare’ cases
when collective conscience of the society is highly shocked.
AIR 1983 SC 957
 Mitthu Singh v. State of Punjab: In this case, Hon’ble Supreme
court declared section 303 of IPC as unconstitutional on the
ground that it prescribes mandatory death sentence which
violates the concept of judicial discretion, and inconsistent with
spirit of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
 (1983) 2 SCC 277
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9.  Sevaka Perumal v. State of T.N.: Hon’ble Supreme Court
emphasized on award of proper sentence having regard to the
nature of offence and the manner of its execution and
commission, as inadequate being harmful to the justice system
would undermine the public confidence in efficacy of law.
(1991) 3 SCC 471
 Shailesh Jasbantibhai v. State of Gujrat: Hon’ble Supreme Court
held that the object of protection of society must be achieved
by the imposition of appropriate sentence and the sentencing
system should be moulded by the court as to meet the
challenges.
(2006) 2 SCC 359
 State of Punjab v. Prem Sagar: This case is of utmost
importance in which issues relating to sentencing system were
extensively addressed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
In this case the issue of absence of sentencing guidelines in
Indian criminal justice system was strongly focused by referring
earlier decisions, scholarly articles and recommendation of the
various committees constitute in this regard.
 (2008) 7 SCC 550
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 Ahmed Hussain Vali Mohd. Saiyed v. State of Gujarat:
Hon’ble Supreme Court has emphasized over the award of
appropriate sentence in a criminal case.
(2009) 7 SCC 254
 Alister Anthony Paraira v. State of Maharashtra: Hon’ble
Supreme Court has emphasized the award of just sentence
having proportion between punishment and nature of
crime in a case.
(2012) 2 SCC 648
 OMA @ Omprakash v State of T.N.: Hon’ble Supreme Court
held that Sentence should be based on sound legal
principles, nature of offence, collective cry and anguish of
the victims and above all the collective conscience and the
doctrine of proportionality.
AIR 2013 SC 825
 Gopal Singh v. State of Uttarakahand: Hon’ble Supreme
Court opined that the court has to consider all various
complex matters in mind while imposing a sentence and
this has to be done with total empirical rationality.
(2013) 7 SCC 545

11.  Soman v. State of Kerala: Hon’ble Supreme Court opined that
there are no legislative or judicial guidelines to assist the trial
court in fixing a just punishment to the accused.
(2013) 11 SCC 382
 Mohd. Arif v. The Registrar, Supreme Court of India: Hon’ble
Supreme Court opined that there is no statutory sentencing
policy to regulate the punishment in India.
(2014) 9 SCC 737
 Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India: In this case Hon’ble
supreme court extensive discussed the issue commutation of
death sentence into life imprisonment which are delay,
insanity, solitary confinement etc.
(2014) 3 SCC 1
 State of Punjab v. Bawa Singh: In these cases, Hon’ble
Supreme Court held that imposition of adequate, just and
appropriate punishment commensurate with gravity, nature
of the crime and the manner of its execution.
(2015) 3 SCC 441
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12.  Raj Bala v. State of Haryana: Hon’ble Supreme Court
held that the court should exercise its discretion on
reasonable and rational parameters keeping in view the
concept of rule of law and collective conscience
balancing it with the principle of proportionality.
(2016) 1 SCC 463
 Summarily, it can be observed on the basis of literature
review made above that strong sentencing mechanism
with statutory sentencing guidelines addressing the
issues cited above , is the need of Indian criminal
justice system as the sentencing mechanism is directly
connected with the security of the people and stability
of the state.
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13.  Just sentencing is the complex exercise to arrive at a
conclusion about adequacy of sentence in given
circumstances of the case and it becomes more difficult in
absence of structured sentencing guidelines for judges
because in this condition they have to work on the basis of
guidelines set by the superior courts for a certain type of
cases and with the help of their judicial mind expected to
be applied under a due consideration of statutory limits of
punishment with a vision to equalize the punishment
awarded and the harm caused by the offence.
 But, sometimes unintentionally due to introduction of
personal attitude, belief, faith etc. as extra legal factors in
sentencing process; it becomes inconsistent i.e. lacking
uniformity of sentencing for similar type of offences. In
India whole sentencing process is governed under the
guidelines laid down by the higher courts in their
judgments and the provisions made in Indian Penal Code,
the Code of criminal procedure and in case of statutory
offence, the provisions of that special penal law would
have relevant consideration.
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 But due to varying nature of facts and
circumstances apparent in each case, generalized
sentencing guidelines laid down by the courts
and provisions relating to sentencing under
Indian criminal law are not exhaustive to regulate
entire sentencing process in criminal courts.
 So, structured or uniform sentencing guidelines
are the emerging need of Indian criminal justice
system to ensure consistency, rationality and
uniformity in sentencing process. Lastly, till than
a competent legislation to rationalise sentencing
process is not enacted by the legislature in India,
the judiciary should take initiative to issue such
guidelines in structured manner so that disparity
in sentencing of offenders may be reduced to a
greater possible extent.

15.  Indian sentencing policy still harbours standard punishments
who bear more regarding incapacitate role then reformation.
Deterrence namely objective concerning penalty has been
disproved.
 Judicial academies bear educative function in imitation of
play. Unless judges are absolutely educated within the usage
of the sentencing alternatives regular along the
acknowledged visibility regarding sentencing policy,
uniformity is sentencing is hard in accordance with achieve.
Judicial academies bear educative function in imitation of
play. Unless judges are absolutely educated within the usage
of the sentencing alternatives regular along the
acknowledged visibility regarding sentencing policy,
uniformity is sentencing is hard in accordance with achieve.
 Where the courts conviction a offender for an offences as
incorporates minimal obligatory sentences, that would stay
unadvisable according to decreases the judgment under the
minimum by using exercising intermission or concessionary
sentencing.
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16.  There exists an unwarranted disparity into short
sentencing policy. Jail manuals hold conferred power on
the regime and mean penal complex officers according
to cut brief the sentences about convicts of the
foundation concerning excellent administration and
productiveness on the criminal.
 The excellent strategies appointed in conformity with
unravel arbitrariness out of the sentencing policy is to
fix Probation Officer to conclude relevant information.
The unprejudiced information generated by means of
the Probation Officer regarding the accused helps
beyond the only formalities among assessing the
accused so in imitation of whether he is past repair or
hence desires in accordance with stand bodily
liquidated.
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