Q. In which of the following landmark cases related to death penalty, the Supreme Court of India elucidated the doctrine of “rarest of rare”?
Answer:
Machi Singh v. State of Punjab
Notes:
- In Jagmohan Singh v. State of UP 1973 case, SC held that according to Article 21deprivation of life is constitutionally permissible if that is done according to the procedure established by law.
- In Rajendra Prasad v. State of UP 1979 case, SC held that, if the murderous operation of a criminal jeopardizes social security in a persistent, planned and perilous fashion then his enjoyment of fundamental rights may be rightly annihilated.
- In The Bachan Singh v. the State of Punjab 1980 case, the SC laid down that a court must scrutinise both the crime as well as the criminal, and then decide whether death penalty is the only suitable punishment in the facts of the case. Emphasis is to be also laid on the aggravating and mitigating factors which are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of the case, it held.SC propounded the dictum of ‘rarest of rare cases’ according to which death penalty is not to be awarded except in the ‘rarest of rare cases’ when the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed.
- In Machi Singh vs State of Punjab (1983), the Supreme Court elucidated the doctrine of “rarest of rare” and set down some guiding principles in the death sentences cases. The aggravating circumstances included the manner in which the crime was committed, motive for committing the crime, severity of the crime, and the victim of the crime. The mitigating circumstances comprised of the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation of an accused, his mental health and his antecedents.