COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES - Advocate Tanwar

A commutation of a sentence is a reduction in sentence. It does not absolve the prisoner from a conviction completely, but, substitutes with a lesser punishment.
For example, a death sentence may be commuted to a sentence of imprisonment for life.

433 empowers the appropriate Government to commute the sentence of the convict.
The appropriate Government can exercise the power without the consent of the convict.
The power of commutation of sentence is exclusively vestes in the Appropriate Government and the High Court cannot direct the Govt. to exercise such power.
Under this section, a Governor can commute a sentence of death.

The petitions for reprieve shall be disposed of without any unnecessary delay.
Delays tend to shake the confidence of the general public in the working of the executive.
A self-imposed rule is followed by the authorities that such petitions shall be disposed of within a period of three months.

The appropriate government may commute any of the following sentences in the prescribed manner:

(S.433-A)

433-A places a restriction on powers of remission or commutation in certain cases.
It puts a restrain on the unbridled powers of remitting the whole or any part of the punishment provided under section 432.
Therefore, remission shall not be carried out in the below-mentioned two categories until and unless the prisoner has undergone 14 years of actual imprisonment.
433-A is not retrospective.
14 years of actual imprisonment is mandatory to grant exercise powers u/s. 432 or u/s. 433.
The period spent on furlough would not be considered for computation under section 433-A

Before enacting S.433-A a prisoner who was convicted with offences having death sentence or serious offences used to move scots free by earning remission after undergoing some part of the sentence.
Taking cognizance of such utter laxity in the below-mentioned two cases, the Parliament considered it prudent to enact S.433-A.

Prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life for an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life; or
A prisoner who was sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life under S.433(a)

The common factor binding together the two categories of ‘lifers’ is the seriousness of offence of which they are convicted.

The section does not violate Articles 72 & 161.
It also not violative of Article 14 as it is based on reasonable classification.
The Apex Court held that the Parliament enact S.433-A under the aegis of Entry 2 of List III of the Seventh Schedule r/w. Article 246.