Satauram Mandavi vs. State of Chhattisgarh 2025 INSC 892 - Art. 20(1) Constitution -Bar Against Retrospective Harsher Penalty Imposition
Constitution of India - Article 20(1) - The Constitutional bar against retrospective imposition of a harsher penalty under Article 20(1) is clear and absolute. [Context: SC observed: The Trial Court, in applying the enhanced sentence introduced by the 2019 Amendment to Section 6 of the POCSO Act, has effectively subjected the appellant to a punishment greater than that which was permissible under the law in force at the time of commission of the offence which is clearly violative of the bar contained in Article 20(1) of the Constitution of India.]
POCSO Act - Section 6 (prior to 2019 amendment ) - The sentence of “imprisonment for life, meaning remainder of natural life,” as per the amended provision, did not exist in the statutory framework on 20.05.2019, the date of the incident. Under the unamended Section 6, the maximum punishment permissible was imprisonment for life in its conventional sense and not imprisonment till the remainder of natural life. (Para 10-12)
Case Info
Coram: Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta
Judgment Date: July 25, 2025
Statutes/Laws Referred
- Section 376AB of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Indian Penal Code)
- Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act)
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019
- Article 20(1) of the Constitution of India (Article 20(1))
#SupremeCourt on Constitutional Bar against retrospective imposition of harsher penalty in criminal cases. https://t.co/0Di4HLjBH6 pic.twitter.com/2dGVi4ZRTx
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