IPC
- Indian Penal Code
CHAPTER III : OF PUNISHMENTS
53.
Punishment
The punishments
to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are-
First-
Death;
39[Secondly-
Imprisonment for life;]
40[***]
Fourthly-
imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:-
(1) Rigorous,
that is, with hard labour;
(2) Simple,
Fifthly-
Forfeiture of property;
Sixthly-
Fine.
41[53A.
Construction of reference to transportation
(1) Subject
to the provisions of sub-section (2) and sub-section (3), any reference
to "transportation for life" in any other law for the time being
in force or in any instrument or order having effect by virtue of any
such law or of any enactment repealed shall be construed as a reference
to "imprisonment for life".
(2) In
every case in which a sentence of transportation for a term has been passed
before the commencement of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 42[1955] (26 of 1955), the offender shall be dealt with in the same
manner as if sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for the same term.
(3) Any
reference to transportation for a term or to transportation for any shorter
term (by whatever name called) in any other law for the time being in
force shall be deemed to have been omitted.
(4) Any
reference to "transportation" in any other law for the time
being in force shall,-
(a) if
the expression means transportation for life, be construed as a reference
to imprisonment for life;
(b) if
the expression means transportation for any shorter term, be deemed to
have been omitted.]
54.
Commutation of sentence of death
In every
case in which sentence of death shall have been passed, 43[the appropriate
Government] may, without the consent of the offender, commute the punishment
for any other punishment provided by this Code.
55. Commutation of sentence of imprisonment for life
In every
case in which sentence of 44[imprisonment] for life shall have been passed,
45[the appropriate Government] may, without the consent of the offender,
commute the punishment for imprisonment of either description for a term
not exceeding fourteen years.
46[55A. Definition of "appropriate Government"
In sections
54 and 55 the expression "appropriate Government" means,-
(a) in
cases where the sentence is a sentence of death or is for an offence against
any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union
extends, the Central Government; and
(b) in
cases where the sentence (whether of death or not) is for an offence against
any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State
extends, the Government of the State within which the offender is sentenced.]
[Section
56. titled "Sentence of Europeans and Americans to penal servitude,
proviso as to sentence for term exceeding ten years but not for life"
repealed by the Criminal Law (Removal of Racial Discriminations) Act,
1949, w.e.f. 6th. April, 1949]
57. Fractions of terms of punishment
In calculating
fractions of terms of punishment, 44[imprisonment] for life shall be reckoned
as equivalent to 44[imprisonment] for twenty years.
[Section
58. titled "Offenders sentenced to transportation how dealt with
until transported" repealed by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 1955, w.e.f. 1st. January, 1956]
[Section
59. titled "Transportation instead of imprisonment" repealed
by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1955, w.e.f. 1st. January,
1956]
60.
Sentence may be (in certain cases of imprisonment) wholly or partly rigorous
or simple
In every
case in which an offender is punishable with imprisonment which may be
of either description, it shall be competent to the court which sentences
such offender to direct in the sentence that such imprisonment shall be
wholly rigorous, or that such imprisonment shall be wholly simple, or
that any part of such imprisonment shall be rigorous and the rest simple.
[Section
61. titled "Sentence of forfeiture of property" repealed by
the Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1921]
[Section
62. titled "Forfeiture of property in respect of offenders punishable
with death, transportation or imprisonment" repealed by the Indian
Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1921]
63.
Amount of fine
Where no
sum is expressed to which a fine may extend, the amount of fine to which
the offender is liable is unlimited, but shall not be excessive.
64. Sentence of imprisonment for non-payment of fine
47[In every
case, of an offence punishable with imprisonment as well as fine, in which
the offender is sentenced to a fine, whether with or without imprisonment,and
in every case of an offence punishable 34[with imprisonment or fine, or]
with fine only, in which the offender is sentenced to a fine,]
it shall
be competent to the Court which sentences such offender to direct by the
sentence that, in default of payment of the fine, the offender shall suffer
imprisonment for a certain term, which imprisonment shall be in excess
of any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced or to which
he may be liable under a commutation of a sentence.
65. Limit to imprisonment for non-payment of fine, when imprisonment
and fine awardable
The term
for which the Court directs the offender to be imprisoned in default of
payment of a fine shall not exceed one-fourth of the term of imprisonment
which is the maximum fixed for the offence, if the offence be punishable
with imprisonment as well as fine.
66. Description of imprisonment for non-payment of fine
The imprisonment
which the Court imposes in default of payment of a fine may be of any
description to which the offender might have been sentenced for the offence.
67. Imprisonment for non-payment of fine, when offence punishable
with fine only
If the
offence be punishable with fine only, 33[the imprisonment which the Court
imposes in default of payment of the fine shall be simple, and] the term
for which the Court directs the offender to be imprisoned, in default
of payment of fine, shall not exceed tile following scale, that is to
say, for any term not exceeding two months when the amount of the fine
shall not exceed fifty rupees, and for any term not exceeding four months
when the amount shall not exceed one hundred rupees, and for any term
not exceeding six months in any other case.
68. Imprisonment to terminate on payment of fine
The imprisonment
which is imposed in default of payment of a fine shall terminate whenever
that fine is either paid or levied by process of law.
69. Termination of imprisonment on payment of proportional part
of fine
If, before
the expiration of the term of imprisonment fixed in default of payment,
such a proportion of the fine be paid or levied that the term of imprisonment
suffered in default of payment is not less than proportional to the part
of the fine still unpaid, the imprisonment shall terminate.
Illustration
A is sentenced
to a fine of one hundred rupees and to four months' imprisonment in default
of payment. Here, if seventy-five rupees of the fine be paid or levied
before the expiration of one month of the imprisonment. A will be discharged
as soon as the first month has expired. If seventy-five rupees be paid
or levied at the time of the expiration of the first month, or at any
later time while A continues in imprisonment. A will be immediately discharged.
If fifty rupees of the fine be paid or levied before the expiration of
two months of the imprisonment, A will be discharged as soon as the two
months are completed. If fifty rupees be paid or levied at the time of
the expiration of those two months, or at any later time while A continues
in imprisonment, A will be immediately discharged.
70. Fine leviable within six years or during imprisonment-Death
not to discharge property from liability
The fine,
or any part thereof which remains unpaid, may be levied at any time within
six years after the passing of the sentence, and if, under the sentence,
the offender be liable to imprisonment for a longer period than six years,
then at any time previous to the expiration of that period; and the death
of the offender does not discharge from the liability any property which
would, after his death, be legally liable for his debts.
71.
Limit of punishment of offence made up of several offences
Where anything
which is an offence is made up of parts, any of which parts is itself
an offence, the offender shall not be punished with the punishment of
more than one of such his offences, unless it be so expressly provided.
33[Where
anything is an offence falling within two or more separate definitions
of any law in force for the time being by which offences are defined or
punished, or
where
several acts, of which one or more than one would by itself or themselves
constitute an offence, constitute, when combined, a different offence,
the offender
shall not be punished with a more severe punishment than the court which
tries him could award for any one of such offences.]
Illustrations
(a) A
gives Z fifty strokes with a stick. Here A may have committed the offence
of voluntarily causing hurt to Z by the whole beating, and also by each
of the blows which make up the whole beating. If A were liable to punishment
for every blow, he might be imprisoned for fifty years, one for each blow.
But he is liable only to one punishment for the whole beating.
(b) But
if, while A is beating Z, Y interferes, and A intentionally strikes Y,
here, as the blow given to Y is no part of the act whereby A voluntarily
causes hurt to Z, A is liable to one punishment for voluntarily causing
hurt to Z, and to another for the blow given to Y.
72. Punishment of person guilty of one of several offences, the
judgment stating that it is doubtful of which
In all
cases in which judgment is given that a person is guilty of one of several
offences specified in the judgment, but that it is doubtful of which of
these offences, he is guilty, the offender shall be punished for the offence
for which the lowest punishment is provided if the same punishment is
not provided for all.
73. Solitary confinement
Whenever
any person is convicted of an offence for which under this Code the Court
has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, by
its sentence, order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement
for any portion or portions of the imprisonment to which he is sentenced,
not exceeding three months in the whole, according to the following scale,
that is to say-a
time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed
six months;a time
not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six
months and 48[shall not exceed one] year;a
time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed
one year.
74. Limit of solitary confinement
In executing
a sentence of solitary confinement, such confinement shall in no case
exceed fourteen days at a time, with intervals between the periods of
solitary confinement of not less duration than such periods; and when
the imprisonment awarded shall exceed three months, the solitary confinement
shall not exceed seven days in any one month of the whole imprisonment
awarded, with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of
not less duration than such periods.
48A[75. Enhanced punishment for certain offences under Chapter XII or
Chapter XVII after previous conviction
Whoever,
having been convicted,-
(a) by
a court in 49[India], of an offence punishable under Chapter XII or Chapter
XVII of this Code with imprisonment of either description for a term of
three years or upwards,
50[***]
shall
be guilty of any offence punishable under either of those Chapters with
like imprisonment for the like term, shall be subject for every such subsequent
offence to 51[imprisonment for life], or to imprisonment of either description
for a term which may extend to ten years.]
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