What is mandatory minimum sentencing? Mandatory minimum sentencing refers to a predetermined minimum punishment for certain offenses, with the intention of ensuring justice and preventing perpetrators from going unpunished. In India, such sentences are prescribed for all sexual offenses under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act except the offense of sexual harassment.
What provisions deal with mandatory minimum sentencing?
- Mandatory minimum sentences are prescribed under the POCSO Act, with Section 8 prescribing a punishment of 3-5 years for offenses under Section 7, which deals with sexual offenses against children. However, imposing the minimum punishment in such cases is mandatory and leaves no discretion to the court.
Arguments for and against mandatory minimum sentencing
- Proponents of mandatory minimum sentencing argue that it limits judicial discretion and arbitrariness, enhances justice, and acts as a deterrent for serious offenses. Critics argue that it leads to overcrowding of prisons and overlooks the individual circumstances of the offender and the offense. They also argue that it can have unintended consequences, such as leading to acquittals due to excessive punishment.
Examination of Section 376 DB of Indian Penal Code
- The Supreme Court is currently examining a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 376 DB of the Indian Penal Code, which describes the punishment for gangrape of a minor under 12 years of age. This section prescribes a ‘minimum mandatory sentence’ of life imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s life and even death. The court’s decision will likely have significant implications for the legal system and mandatory minimum sentencing in India.
- Mandatory minimum sentencing is a concept that comes primarily from the Canadian and American legal systems; in India, such sentences are prescribed for all sexual offenses under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act except the offense of sexual harassment. Under Section 8 of the POCSO Act, a punishment of 3-5 years has been prescribed for offenses under Section 7 which deals with offenses of sexual assault against children.
- However, imposing the minimum punishment in such cases is mandatory. ..When the legislature has prescribed a minimum sentence without discretion, the same cannot be reduced by the courts. In such cases, imposition of minimum sentence, be it imprisonment or fine, is mandatory and leaves no discretion to the court, the Supreme Court reiterated in its 2019 ruling in ‘State Of Madhya Pradesh vs Vikram Das’. Similarly, in the State of J&K vs. Vinay Nanda’, the Court said that even if it were to consider the mitigating circumstances, it cannot shy away from giving the minimum sentence as prescribed in the statute.
Synopsis
However, it was first in the year 1983, following nationwide protests in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 1978 ruling acquitting two policemen for the rape of a 16-year-old Adivasi girl in ‘Tukaram And Ors v. State Of Maharashtra’ that the Criminal Law Amendment Act Of 1983 was passed. The 1983 amendment was the first instance of ‘mandatory minimum punishment’ being prescribed, with seven years for general rapes and ten years for aggravated cases which could include rapes of minors below 12 years, and pregnant women, while the maximum punishment or life imprisonment for both was stipulated as 14 years. Years later, in 2012, following the brutal gangrape and death of a medical student in Delhi, the demand for more stringent rape laws with stricter punishments gained widespread momentum.
