Article 20: Protection in respect of conviction for offences
§ General
§ Protection available to citizens as well as non-citizens
Clause (1) Protection against ex post facto law
§ Meaning and Illustration
§ Article 15 ICCPR 1966
§ Offence Sec.26 of General Clause Act 1897
§ Constitutional Recognition to the rule
– No one can be convicted for expect for the violation of a law in force.
– A penal statute which create a new offences is always prospective in operation
§ First part of Art. 20(1) a law which declare some act as an offence after the completion of that act.
§ Cases:
Soni Devrajbhai Babubhai Vs State of
§ Interpretation of a provision of law does not create any new offence
Lily Thomas Vs
Sarla Mudgal Vs
§ Second Part of Art. 20(1) prohibits the enhancement of punishment subsequently.
Kedar Nath Vs State of
Maru Ram Vs
§ Benificial ex post facto law:
Ratan Lal Vs state of Punjab AIR 1965SC.
§ Procedural ex post facto law is not hit by Art 20(1)
§ Protection against ex post facto law in American Constitution.
§ Imposition of civil liability retrospectively not barred.
Clause (2) Protection against Double Jeopardy:
§ Meaning and Object
§ English common law Maxim “nemo debet bis vexaari”
§ Essential Ingredients:
§ The person must be an accused of an offence
§ The person must have been prosecuted before a court or a tribunal
Maqbool Hussain Vs state of Bombay AIR 1953 SC
S. A. Venkataraman Vs
§ The person must have been punished after his prosecution before a court or a tribunal
Baij Nath Vs state of Bhopal AIR 1957 SC
English Common law
American law
§ The person must be prosecuted for the second time before a court or tribunal
§ The offence must be the same in both the proceedings.
Leo Roy Frey Vs Superintendent District Jail AIR 1958SC
State of
Clause (3) Protection against Self Incrimination:
§ Meaning
No person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself –Right against testimonial compulsion
§ English common law Maxim “nemo tenetur prodere accussare seipsum”
§ 5th Amendment of American Constitution.
§ Fundamental Principal of criminal jurisprudence
“An accused must be presumed to be innocent until proved guilty.”
Article 11 UDHR 1948
§ Essential Ingredients:
§ The person must be an accused of an offence
Vera Ibrahim Vs state of Maharashtra AIR 1976 SC 1167
Nandini Satpathy Vs P. L.Dani AIR 1978 SC
§ It is a protection against compulsion to be a witness
M. P. Sharma Vs Satish Chandra AIR 1954 SC
State of
State Vs
§ It is a protection against such compulsion as resulting in his giving evidence against himself
§ Section 27 of Evidence Act 1872 & Art. 20(3)
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