Whoever, being under sentence of imprisonment for life, commits murder, shall be punished with death.
IPC Section 303: Simplified Explanation
IPC Section 303 of the Indian Penal Code dealt with the offence of murder committed by a person who was already serving a life sentence. This section was particularly stringent, as it mandated the death penalty for anyone who murdered while under a sentence of life imprisonment. This meant that any individual who was already serving a life sentence and then committed murder would face mandatory execution.
However, it’s important to note that the Supreme Court of India has declared IPC Section 303 unconstitutional and void. In the landmark case of Mithu vs. the State of Punjab in 1983, the Supreme Court found that the mandatory death penalty provision in Section 303 violated the right to life and personal liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The court held that it was unconstitutional to remove judicial discretion in sentencing.
Is IPC Section 303 Bailable?
Since IPC Section 303 has been declared unconstitutional and is no longer in effect, its bailability is moot. Before its invalidation, the offences under this section were not bailable due to the mandatory death penalty.
IPC Section 303 Punishment
After the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1983, there is no punishment under IPC Section 303, as the section itself has been struck down and is considered null and void. Before this ruling, the Punishment was a mandatory death sentence.
Example of IPC Section 303
Given that IPC Section 303 has been declared unconstitutional and is no longer applied in legal proceedings, there are no recent examples of its application. However, before its invalidation, it was a topic of significant legal and ethical debate, particularly because of its mandatory death penalty clause, which allowed no room for judicial discretion based on the circumstances of individual cases. The case of Mithu vs. the State of Punjab is a landmark example, where the petitioner, Mithu, challenged the constitutionality of Section 303 after being sentenced under it, leading to its eventual nullification by the Supreme Court.
